What's a Girl To Do?
by holyhandgrenade999
Summary: When Lana Dover, a curious aspiring journalist, pokes her nose into rumors of a haunted room on campus, she gets more than she bargained for...an entire world more
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Alright, here we go yet again. This is my first journey into the Hetalia universe, so tell me if I'm getting characters and such right or wrong.**

**DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING OF HETALIA**

When the rumors started floating around campus about the "haunted" practice room in the Music Department, I had to go see for myself. Seeing as journalism is my major, it was my duty to go and see what sort of story I could get out of this. Was it an elaborate hoax? Or was it actually something supernatural at work? A malevolent ghost? Or benign spirit? Now, I don't normally do these kinds of stories. I'd rather do something on the latest game, or the latest drama production. However, the intrigue was too great to pass up. No one else wanted to venture down there with me, so I went alone. The door was already open, so I snuck in and closed it behind me, to ensure no one could be a nuisance to my investigation.

The room looked normal, alright. It was brightly lit like the others. It had the same paint and flooring as the others. There was nothing here to suggest a haunting, at all! I figured I should stay here for a while, just to see if anything would happen. I promised myself that if nothing happened after an hour, I'd call this one a hoax. Seeing as I was in a music room, I figured I may as well do something musical. I pulled out my ipod, along with the portable speakers I keep in my backpack, and started playing some Queen. It was still boring, so I started singing along.

"_It's a kind of magic…"_

I was almost into the second verse, when a breeze started going through the room. Funny, the windows were closed… I hit the pause button on the speakers and glanced around. Could this be part of the "haunting" people were talking about? It had been mentioned in the stories. Students going in and disappearing for hours and sometimes even days at a time. But did it start with this wind? It certainly didn't feel spooky at all. It felt warm, like a gust of wind off the sea, almost. The temperature of the wind was very unnatural for fall, but not supernatural. It died down after a few seconds, so I thought nothing of it, and went back to my music. Somehow, it had been changed from Queen to a soft piano melody from the Legend of Zelda series, and I started in shock as I realized this.

"What in the world? My ipod isn't this glitchy…Maybe there is something wrong with this room after all." I muttered to myself as I looked around

As I examined every corner of the room, I noticed one side of the room in shadows. The strange part was that the sun was shining brightly onto that spot, so theoretically, those shadows shouldn't have existed. I took a step forward and bent down to look at them. They weren't anything remarkable, and there were plenty of other explanations for them. I just couldn't think of any at the moment. I walked back to my ipod, which had now stopped playing all together.

"Oh, give me a break. This is just ridiculous already. I'm calling Apple as soon as I'm done here to complain about this thing. It's virtually brand new!"

A soft light came from the side of the room that I had just examined, and music began to play as I finished speaking, soft at first, then louder and louder.

"…The hell? What's all this?" I turned to look at the light flashing from the shadows

It was bright enough now, that's for sure. As I gaped at it, I began to pick out colours in the light. They looked almost like…flags? I was sure of it; they were the colours of various flags of the world! I listened to the music, and began to pick out lyrics. I repeated them out loud, not able to make heads or tails of them.

"Marukaite Chikuyuu…Draw a circle, that's the earth… What does this mean?"

Helpful hint: if weird lights start flashing when they shouldn't, and a song plays along, don't repeat the lyrics. Strange things will happen, I guarantee it. As soon as the words came out of my mouth, I felt something tugging on me, and I lost my balance. I didn't fall to the ground, but was hurled headlong, along with all of my belongings, into the flashing lights. I braced myself for an impact with the wall, but that never happened. I felt myself falling, as all sorts of colours flashed by me. Then everything went black and I crashed down onto something very hard.

"Aggh…my spine…" I groaned, and lay still for a few moments with my eyes closed to try to regain my breath

"Oh my god! Iggy, what did you do?"

"Bloody hell man, this isn't my fault! And don't call me that! I have a proper name!"

"Well, someone did something to make this happen, da?"

"Don't look at me! Just because I'm more awesome than all of you."

"For the love of god, brother, shut it."

"Could you all just calm yourselves?"

"I agree with Roderich, aru."

"Why has no one asked me for advice?"

"Who are you again?"

**A/N: Guess who the voices are! Review please, I would like to know if this is something you want to see continued**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Wow! This is the quickest I've ever had a story reviewed before! Thank you! Let's see what Lana's up to, shall we?**

**DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING OF HETALIA**

I was greeted with an insane collection of accents and masculine voices. I coughed, and opened my eyes. I had landed on a table in some sort of boardroom, in front of a large crowd of guys who looked to be either late teens or early twenties, and who were all staring at me with either confusion or concern. I blinked.

"Alright. Where am I, how did I get here, and who are you all?" I said, as calmly as I could for someone who had just fallen through a portal of some sorts

"Well, where do we start…?" One of them piped up. He seemed to be a level-headed one. I studied him for a minute. He had blonde-ish hair with bright green eyes, and VERY prominent eyebrows. He looked around for help from his cohorts.

"Perhaps we could start with dinner, and then a romantic stroll, and then…ohonhonhonhon" Another was staring right at me with the most perverted look I had ever seen. He had longer hair, for a man anyway, and was obviously French.

"Francis, leave her alone. She's probably scared as it is being here, she doesn't need you to start making it worse." Said one with slicked back blonde hair and blue eyes. He seemed sensible, but strict.

"I'll take it from here, aru! This is the World Conference, aru! We're all representatives of different countries, except for Gilbert. His country died a while back, aru." I turned to the speaker, who had his hair tied back into a ponytail. It was black like night, and he had a really weird verbal tic.

"My turn! Step aside for the hero! Currently, the conference is being held at Feliciano's place, which is here. He's the representative for the Northern half of Italy. And I am Alfred F. Jones, also known as AMERICA!" He felt the need to pose epicly in his leather chair, and ended up looking awkward and funny. He wore glasses and had a cowlick sticking straight up by his forehead.

"Ok, that's good background, I guess..." I said as I sat up, "Now, who are all of you? I only know Alfred and Francis so far."

One by one, they all stepped up and introduced themselves to me. The one with the large eyebrows went first.

"I'm Arthur Kirkland, representative of England. It's a pleasure." He smiled and I smiled back.

"I'm Feliciano Vargas! I think you heard about me already…" He was a cheerful one, with auburn hair and a massive curl sticking out to one side.

"I'm Wang Yao, aru! Here to represent China." Ahh, so that's where that accent was from.

"Je suis Francis Bonnefoy, du France." The perverted one winked at me.

"Ludwig. Ludwig Beilschmidt. I represent Germany." He was the no-nonsense blonde.

"…My name is Kiku Honda. Japan." I jumped a bit at the Japanese guy in front of me. If he hadn't introduced himself, I wouldn't have known he was in the room.

"My name is Ivan Braginski," I had to look up to see his face. He was very tall, with silver hair and violet eyes. He wore a long coat and scarf, even though they weren't necessary. He went on, "and I'm from Mother Russia. You'll become one, da?"  
>"Err… One with what?" I asked.<br>"With Russia!" He smiled a smile that seemed innocent and child-like, but I could see some sort of darker side to it.  
>"I'll decide later…" I looked around for someone to bail me out of this.<p>

"Ivan, behave. Apologies, miss, he does this frequently." Another man spoke up. He had dark brown hair and violet eyes, like the Russian. He was ten times more polite and had a classic charm about him.  
>"I am Roderich Edelstein, representing Austria." He said.<p>

"NEXT! The AWESOME me! Gilbert Beilschmidt! Prussia, at your service!" He had silver hair, red eyes, and skin paler than mine, which is saying something.

"Right, well, that's all of us." Said Alfred.  
>"Not quite, I think." I said sheepishly.<br>"But we introduced everyone here!"  
>"What about him?" I pointed to a corner, where there was a guy who looked vaguely like Alfred, but was holding a polar bear. He nearly fainted when I pointed to him.<br>"He's….uh…he's…"

"I'm CANADA! You know, Matthew Williams, your brother?" Said the one in the corner as he glared at Alfred.  
>"Pleased to meet you, Matthew!" I smiled widely at him, and that seemed to calm him down<br>"So, who are you?"

I blushed lightly when I realized I had forgotten to introduce myself properly to the crowd. It was really absent-minded of me.

"I'm Lana, Lana Dover. Nice to meet you all!" I addressed the entire room, and my sentiments were either murmured back to me or paraphrased.

Hopping off the table and immediately regretting my swift movement, I stood stiff as a board for a moment, before relaxing and leaning against the table. All eyes were on me, and I was at war with myself over what to bring up next. Rooming, or how I got here? I decided on how I got there to start, and then I thought I would segue into where I'd be staying for however long I'd be here.

"Well, this brings me to my next point," I said, "How on earth did I wind up in your conference room?"  
>"Frankly, most of us were wondering that ourselves." Said Roderich<br>"I think Arthur would know… da?" Ivan smiled that creepy smile of his  
>"Oh bugger off, you git." Arthur scowled<br>"But Ivan has a point, aru! You're the only one of us who knows black magic." Shrugged Yao  
>"Just because I know it, doesn't mean I'm responsible!"<br>"No one said you were, dude. We only want to know if you know how this happened." Alfred stared at Arthur  
>"There is a way that it might be possible…"<br>"Which is what?" I was really curious as to what Arthur knew, and if he had any idea on how to fix it  
>"Something or someone opened up a temporal rip that somehow managed to sideswipe you and bring you here. Unfortunately, we have no way of knowing who or what did this, so you're stuck here."<br>"That's not so bad."

The countries nodded in agreement and seemed pleased that I wasn't sad or overly freaked out over being stuck here. I don't mind. Besides, all the guys here seem like they'd all be gracious hosts and act like gentlemen. Well…most of them. I'm not so sure about Francis or Gilbert. I decided to bring up the next order of business: lodgings. I had my wallet with me, as my backpack had fallen through along with me, but I definitely didn't have enough for a hotel.

**A/N: This may be an awkward place to leave off, but it was threatening to get too long on me. Stay tuned to see who she gets to room with, and some other things. Review please!**

**P.S. : Francis said "I'm Francis Bonnefoy, of France." At least, I think anyway. It's been a while since I've used my French skills.  
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	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: And so, Lana's story continues. I'll be using some translating websites from now on if i have other languages in this, and we all know how reliable those are... :/. If anything is incorrect, please let me know!**

**DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING OF HETALIA**

"Right, so, if I'm gonna be here for a while, I need a place to stay. Seeing as I have little to no money, and barely enough on my debit card to last 3 nights in a 1 star hotel, any suggestions?" I tried my best to look casual, yet helpless all at the same time for effect.  
>"We could always toss her under the table and let her sleep on her backpack…" Mused Ivan<br>"What is wrong with you, aru?"  
>"I was making a joke, da?"<br>"She can stay with one of us! Like me! Lana, if you stay with me, I'll make you pasta every day!" Smiled Feliciano  
>"You're currently rooming with me, so don't just volunteer my house against my will, alright?" Ludwig stared Feliciano into his chair<br>"Look, why don't we do this the easy way? Everyone put something into the hat, and whatever Miss Dover picks, is who she stays with." Arthur sighed exasperatedly  
>"Fine by me." I agreed with Arthur. No need to make this harder than it needed to be. The pasta was tempting though.<p>

One by one, they all put an item in the hat behind their backs so I couldn't see who put in what. Arthur forbid Francis and Gilbert to throw something in, he said that if I stayed with them, I would be violated at least 5 times by the end of the first day. I didn't want that to happen, and neither did the other members of the conference. The hat went around the table before coming to a stop in front of me. I closed my eyes, dropped my hand in, and pulled out…

"A conductor's baton?" I looked around for the owner  
>"That would be me." Roderich spoke up<br>"Alright, I guess I'm with you for a while now."  
>"Very well, we shall leave as soon as you're ready."<br>"I'm essentially ready, but I need some things first. I have no clothes besides the ones on me, no pajamas, nothing like that."  
>"Ah."<p>

I didn't mean to impose even more on him; I was already occupying his house for a long period of time. Feeling rather awkward, I slunk down into an empty chair and gazed around the room for anyone who could help me out. They all seemed sympathetic, and finally, someone offered their help.

"I'll help you! We are in my country, after all. I'll take you to some good boutiques!" Feliciano said, making a noise at the beginning of the sentence that sounded like ve.  
>"Thank you so much! All of you! I promise I'll repay you when I get the chance."<p>

They all refused, insisting that I was their guest, and it was only natural to do this for me. I tried to push repayment a few more times, but each time I was told it was absolutely unnecessary. Don't say I didn't try. I really was thankful for them. After all, I was essentially a perfect stranger to them, and they were all being so generous to me. They discussed one more point in the conference, which looked more like a very heated argument leading to a fistfight between many people, Francis and Arthur mostly doing the physical fighting. Once Ludwig knocked some sense into them, they adjourned the meeting and I walked out with Feliciano.

"Shall we?" He smiled and pointed to a light blue Ferrari California with the top down  
>"Feliciano, could you get any more Italian?" I laughed<br>"I don't think so. And you don't have to call me by my full name; it gets to be a mouthful after a while." He grinned back  
>"Okay, Feli, let's go!"<p>

We sped through the Italian countryside, the warm sun beating down on us. He was driving like a bat out of hell, but from the way other cars rushed by, it was the norm. With my blonde hair flying back as he drove, and the two of us smiling and chatting as we went along, the scene could have been romantic. I'm sure more than one person thought that too as we went by them. From the way he chattered on, I could tell that he was a very happy person who hardly ever got angry, but had a sensitive side to him. After an hour or so, we pulled to a stop on the side of a street.

"Welcome to the quadrilatero della moda! This is Milan's fashion district. I'm sure we'll find something for you here!" Feliciano grabbed my hand and tugged me down the lane.  
>"Slow down! I'm sure it'll still be here in 5 minutes!" I giggled<br>"Here's a store, why don't we see what's in here? I'm buying, of course. Whatever I can do to help you, **bella**!"

I smiled at him. From what very little Italian I knew, that meant beautiful. I looked up at the sign. Dolce and Gabanna. Good Lord, Feli! First a Ferrari, now D&G? Was he super wealthy or something? I couldn't afford these clothes on a good day! We went in and began browsing. It wasn't long until I found some shirts and jeans that I liked, so I grabbed them off the rack and found a change room. The first outfit I tried on was a black and white t-shirt designed to look like black lace on top of a white shirt. It also had a floral pattern incorporated. I paired this with a pair of grey jeans with a worn effect. I came out to show Feli, and he approved, so that was one outfit down. The next outfit was a yellow and black three quarter length dress with a star pattern on it, cinched with a black belt and worn with black leggings underneath. I came out and saw that somehow, Francis, Gilbert and Arthur had found us. Feli was conversing happily with them, and when I walked out, I elicited a wolf whistle from Francis and Gilbert. Arthur turned a shade of bright red, and Feli clapped happily.

"It looks so good on you, Lana!" He said cheerfully  
>"<strong>Ma cheri<strong>, you are like the petals of a rose: perfect." Francis winked pervertedly  
>"That outfit is almost as awesome as I am." Gilbert threw his two cents in<br>"How did you all get here? I'm flattered by what you said, but how did you get here?" I was amused and confused  
>"Oh, Feliciano called us. Said he had something to show us. I can only assume he meant yourself." Answered Arthur.<p>

I didn't answer, but grinned and went back into the room. I changed back into my faded jeans and purple sweater, and walked back out. That was it for D&G, so we bought those two outfits and continued down the road, Francis, Gilbert and Arthur in tow. We hit up another store, Moschino, to try our luck there. I found a blue pleated miniskirt with a black blouse, which everyone seemed to like. Another winner was a black cardigan that only went to my middle, with a grey undershirt and light blue skinny jeans. I was having a blast shopping with the four of them, and they seemed to be enjoying it as well. I could do without the sexual comments every five seconds from Francis and Gilbert, though. I was going to change back into the clothes I arrived in, but Feli brought up something.

"Ve~…what if you need to go somewhere for a nice dinner or a dance? You need some dresses now!"  
>"But Feli, don't you think you've already spent enough on me?" I was amazed at how free he was with his money<br>"Oh no! I think not enough, actually!"

I facepalmed and went to go find some formal wear. I came up with a red v-neck satin sleeveless medium length dress with a side slit and draped detaling, which cause even more sexual comments, and Arthur went outside for "fresh air"…which seemed odd, as the store was ventilated really well. The other dress I found was the obligatory little black dress. It was shorter, but still to just above my knees, with a sleeve on one shoulder and not on the other, creating a diagonal slanting neckline. I modeled it for Feli and the gang, and Arthur reappeared, but as soon as he saw me, I heard something that sounded like "…oh god…" and he went back outside. The day continued along the successful shopping path it was on, and when we filled our hands with bags, we deemed the trip finished.

**A/N: I'm getting my info about Milan and shopping off of wikipedia. I hope it's right... see what i did there? It's time to start laying the brickwork for some potential relationships ;) I did classify this as romance after all. I still have no idea who i'm pairing her with though. Review please!**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: And so the shopping trip continues...**

**DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING OF HETALIA**

"Well, that was fun! Good thing we found some good pieces, normally I'm too tall for these kinds of clothes." I mused  
>"You looked fantastic in all of them! Didn't I tell you we'd find something here?" Feli smiled<br>"You did, but when you said boutiques, I thought you meant little stores, not fashion giants!"  
>"They had boutique style stores though…"<br>"Technically. Are we heading to Roderich's place now?"  
>"I thought we could stop and have a little drink first."<br>"Pub time? ALRIGHT!" Yelled Gilbert  
>"Ehhh…no. Coffee time!"<br>"I see what you did there…onhonhonhon." Francis grinned like he knew some dirty secret  
>"What did I do?"<br>"Absolutely nothing. He's just being a prat." Arthur glared at Francis  
>"So where are we off to?" I wondered<br>"My brother's favorite café! I told him and Roderich to be there so he could meet you and Roderich could take you to his house." Feli answered

We walked along a nice, rustic road lined with cafés and restaurants. It was about five minutes, and we stopped at a quaint little coffee shop with flowers in the windows and a beautiful awning. As we went in and ordered our drinks (mine being a marocchino con cioccolato bianco, or white chocolate marocchino), we heard a very loud voice hailing us. Well, hailing Feli in particular.

"Hey, **stupido fratello**! What did you want? I was working you know. I can't just leave when you tell me you want me to meet someone. Especially if it's another one of those potato bastards!"  
>"Lovino! You made it!" Smiled Feliciano, "This is who I wanted you to meet, Miss Lana Dover. She's gonna be staying with Roderich for a while, and she's gonna visit us sometime too!"<p>

Feliciano's brother Lovino was apparently the representative of Southern Italy. He was extremely short tempered with his brother, and looked almost exactly like him, except his hair was darker and his hair curl was on the opposite side of his head. However, when he saw me, he tried to act as though the outburst against Feli had never happened.

"**Ciao, bella signora**." He nodded at me with a smile  
>"Hi." I nodded back, largely unimpressed by him calling me pretty lady in Italian.<p>

"Well well, who's this **chicha bonita**?"

I'd had enough of Francis and Gilbert saying things like that, and now Lovino and the Spanish man who just walked up had to get on the bandwagon. Arthur looked very disapproving of their comments and I felt the same way. I prayed for something to happen, anything to happen, to get me away from all this flirting. It's seems prayers get answered very fast these days, because Roderich walked up almost immediately after the Spaniard said his piece and motioned for me to join him. I introduced myself quickly, and scurried to Roderich before the smooth talkers could start up again.

"Are you ready to leave? I have some business to take care of at home and need to go quickly." He looked at me inquiringly  
>"Yeah, get me out of here. I don't know how much more of them I can take." I sighed<p>

He looked concerned, and I shrugged it off as nothing. We made our way to the airport, where we hopped a flight to Vienna. After landing, Roderich had a car waiting for him, and we drove to his house in peaceful silence. It took maybe twenty minutes to get there, and when I stepped out of the car, my mouth almost fell open in amazement. His house was beautiful. It was essentially a Baroque style mansion with an immaculate front yard and it looked to be the size of at least 7 bungalows put together. What is with these people? Mansions, expensive clothing without a second though, luxury sports cars, chauffeurs… I began to wonder just what their circumstances were. I decided that after I got settled, I'd ask Roderich. He opened the door for me, and after a word of thanks, I entered. If at all possible, his house was even nicer on the inside. The walls were white with ornate detailing in gold and red, and the furniture looked like it had been handed down from some sort of European aristocracy from the 18th century. I couldn't help myself. I just stopped dead in the middle of the hallway and dropped my suitcases.

"Is something awry?" Asked Roderich as he came up behind me  
>"No, it's just that your house is so…elaborately beautiful. I've only seen things like this in history textbooks." I gazed around, marvelling at the craftsmanship of the house<br>"Thank you. I've lived here since I was very young. It's withstood many things over the years."  
>"This reminds me…Feliciano had no qualms about spending thousands of dollars on clothing, and your house is a work of art…are all of you country representatives corporate tycoons or heirs to some large fortune that you have these luxuries?"<br>"No, not quite. I do come from a higher class background, but as for the rest, I'm not sure. I never bothered to know. Now, shall I show you to your room? You'll be in the room two doors down and across the hall from mine."

He changed the subject rather fast, so I began to suspect that there was more to these men than met the eye. However, I know when someone doesn't want private information made public, so I decided not to push it. I picked up my bags and he walked me to a room so large it could have been a ballroom, but it was a bedroom. At the center of the room was a large four poster bed, and I felt comfortable just looking at it. On the right side of the room was a large armoire and on the other was a vanity that would have been at home during the era of the American Civil War. There was also a door in the right corner, which I assumed led to the bathroom.

"This is a guest bedroom? My goodness, I'd like to see how big everything else in your house is." I whistled appreciatively

Roderich chuckled as he walked out. He said he'd give me time to unpack and get settled, and then I could inform him when I start feeling hungry, and he'd have dinner ready. As I was left to myself I wondered if by dinner he meant he'd cook it, or that he still had servants to do it for him. Either way, I felt like a fairy tale princess in his house. I put all my clothes in the armoire, my accessories in the drawers of the vanity and my ipod speakers on top of the vanity. The armoire was so big, I wouldn't have been surprised if I went in and found Narnia. I went to check on the door in the corner, to see if my suspicions were right. They were. Even though it was just a bathroom, it was as ornate as the rest of the house. I noticed some essentials sitting on the counter beside the sink and wondered if Roderich kept them there just in case he had surprise visitors like me. Exiting the bathroom, I ran a hand through my hair, trying to decide what to do next. I sat on the bed and just pondered my options for a minute. As I was thinking, I heard faint piano music. I hopped off the bed and padded silently down the hall, trying to find the source of the music. The music was getting louder as I rounded a corner, and in a room to my right, was Roderich playing a magnificent grand piano. He didn't seem to notice me, so I leaned on the door frame and listened. I knew the piece he was playing, and his playing was so vibrant and masterful. I could feel the emotions he put into the piece just by listening. As he finished, I applauded lightly.

**A/N: What piece was Austria playing? We'll get there next chapter. Review please!**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: In which the extent of Lana's musical skills is shown, and another potential romance begins to bloom...**

**DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING OF HETALIA**

"Well done, Roderich! I'm sure Tchaikovsky would be proud to hear you play his Sleeping Beauty waltz." I smiled at him as he jumped in surprise  
>"Lana! Why didn't you make some noise, or do something to let me know you were listening?"<br>"I didn't want to interrupt the music."  
>"Well…here, why don't you sit down instead of standing there?"<br>"Alright." I pulled up a stool beside the piano bench  
>"Do you play?"<br>"Piano? Not quite. I taught myself, and even then, I only know one song."  
>"I'd like to hear it."<br>"Okay…it might not be to your taste."  
>"No matter."<br>"Don't say I didn't warn you."

He stood up and we traded spots. I cracked my knuckles and raised them dramatically, grinning and getting a laugh from Roderich. I brought them crashing down in a disgusting sounding chord. I cringed and so did he. I stopped joking around and started the actual song. It had lyrics, so after the introduction, I began singing along.

"_Just a small town girl, living in a lonely world. She took the midnight train going anywhere. Just a city boy, born and raised in South Detroit. He took the midnight train going anywhere…"_

As I finished up with Don't Stop Believing, Roderich lightly clapped for me.

"You were right, it isn't my style of preference, but it is a good song nonetheless. A little while back, that was all Alfred would listen to or sing. He got on everyone's nerves, but I dare say, you sing it far better than he could. Perhaps even better than any of us could." He said  
>"Thanks, but I'm no Steve Perry. Only he can sing it properly." I gave a wry smile<br>"Perhaps. However, your piano skills were passable but not quite what they could be. You have the potential, you just need to work on it."  
>"Yeah…that's probably 'cause I taught myself. I didn't focus on technique, just making the song sound somewhat like the recording."<br>"I can teach you to play, should you wish. We may as well find something for you to do while you stay here."  
>"That'd be great!"<p>

I was delighted to be able to learn another instrument, and I was also glad to have something to do besides wander the house and get in the way. I wanted to get started as soon as possible, but my stomach quickly shot that idea down.

"Erm, before we begin, could we maybe eat something?" I asked  
>"Of course! It seems we lost track of time. We should be starting supper very soon. I hope you don't mind, but I took the liberty of inviting a few of the other representatives over for dinner. I told them to be here for 6:30 and that we would be having a semi-formal supper." Roderich answered<br>"Not at all. The more the merrier! Well, if that's the case, I should get dressed, and I'll see you downstairs in a few minutes then."

I smiled at him as I left, and I went into my room. The black dress with the diagonal neckline I had bought earlier in the day when I went shopping with Feli would be perfect for the occasion. I figured I should also do something with my hair. It looked as though I had taken a blender to it, it was so tangled. After fighting with it for a good 15 minutes, it was finally presentable. I used a black and silver hair clip to put half of it up. Something was still missing from the ensemble, though. Earrings! I had found a pair I loved, in the shape of dangling treble clefs. I wore those as well, and in my opinion, looked ready.

"Roderich?" I called out  
>"Yes?"<br>"Will I need to wear some sort of shoes?"  
>"If you wish. Barefoot will look rather odd, though."<p>

I slipped on a pair of black open toed heels. They weren't obscenely high, but they still had a bit of a heel to them. Alright, now I was ready. I walked down the hall, to where Roderich was waiting for me. He wore a long blue coat, with a white cravat and black pants. He looked as though he was a composer from the Classical period of music.

"You look very dashing." I said with a small grin  
>"And you look rather wonderful yourself. Shall we start with a lesson while we wait for our guests?" He smiled back<br>"No time like the present."

We went back into the room with the grand piano and I sat down on the bench. Roderich didn't sit on the stool this time, but right beside me on the bench. Was it just me, or did the room heat up a few degrees? I shook the thought out of my head and mentally slapped myself so I could focus on the lesson.

"Do you know the scales?" He asked  
>"I know most of them, but mostly in the bass clef."<br>"Well, at least you know that. It will make things infinitely easier. What about note names?"  
>"Yes, I know those."<br>"Excellent! That also lessens the amount of work. Here, try sight reading this piece."

I looked up at the sheet of music. It said "Prelude in C Major", and was written by Bach. It was full of sixteenth notes and while I was skeptical of my ability to play those notes without sounding choppy, I gave it a try anyway. It wasn't bad, but I missed several notes and hit a few wrong ones in the process. Roderich stopped me right there.

"Not bad, but you need more confidence and a steady hand when you play. And at measure thirty-three, I think you'll find it easier if you place your hands like this."

He positioned my hands on the proper keys, so I wouldn't have to overstretch my right hand and he placed his hands on mine.

"Now, begin from thirty-three and see if you can feel the difference."

He pushed down on my hands and we played through it together. He was right; it was way easier to play it this way. Of course, it also helped that he was essentially guiding my hands through the music. When the piece was over, I commented on this fact.

"You were right, it is easier!"  
>"I told you. I know how to play piano, you know." He laughed, and feigned an air of annoyance at my insinuation that he didn't know what he was talking about<br>"I never said you didn't!" I giggled at the ridiculous façade he had thrown up

**A/N: If the Sleeping Beauty waltz sounds familiar to you, you probably know it. Disney put lyrics to it and they went something along the lines of "I know you, I walked with you once upon a dream. I know you, the gleam in your eyes is so familiar a gleam. Yes, I know it's true that visions are seldom all they seem. But if I know you, I know what you'll do. You'll love me at once the way you did once upon a dream." Review please!  
><strong>


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: More romance ahead! Read on...**

**DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING OF HETALIA**

Roderich looked at me and dropped the act, grinning in amusement. I noticed that he hadn't taken his hands off of mine, and I think he must have just thought the same thing, because he looked down and quickly slid his hands back to his side. We both turned a shade of bright red and swiftly averted our eyes from each other. As the doorbell rang, a feeling of relief swept through both of us, thankful that it ended the awkward moment. I scurried down the hall and down the stairs to answer the door. Standing on the step were Ludwig, Feli, and Arthur.

"C'mon in, gentlemen." I ushered them into a sitting room, where we would sit until supper was ready  
>"Ve~… thanks for having us over,Lana!" Beamed Feli<br>"It was Roderich's idea, actually."  
>"Thanks to both of you then. This will be the perfect end to an insane day." Said Ludwig<br>"May I say, you look positively lovely this evening." Arthur said as a light red dusted his cheeks  
>"Oh, I don't look that great." I humbly replied<br>"I feel inclined to disagree."  
>"As do i." Roderich had now joined us in the sitting room, and chimed in with Arthur<p>

I blushed and we changed the subject. We spoke about everything, from the past to the present. Apparently, at one point, Feliciano had lived with Roderich as a maid, which had caused all sorts of mayhem in the Edelstein house. I learned a great deal about the four of them as we talked. Then, the subject of the conversation turned to me.

"So, Miss Dover…" Ludwig began  
>"Lana. Let's keep this informal." I said<br>"Very well, Lana. We know about ourselves, but we don't know much about you."  
>"Where do you want me to start?"<br>"Wherever you like."  
>"What's your favourite pasta?" Asked Feli with a hilarious amount of enthusiasm<br>"Fettuccine Alfredo." I grinned  
>"Do you have any hobbies?" Ludwig inquired<br>"I have a few. I enjoy reading and writing, so much that it's going to be my career. I'm trying to get into some sort of journalism. I love listening to music, and playing it. I'm a sucker for a good tune and I love Broadway. I guess you could say that my preferences in music are all over the place. I also enjoy soccer, also known as football, and hockey."  
>"What's your favorite premier league team?" Arthur questioned, almost leaning out of his seat with joy at finding a fellow soccer fan.<br>"Manchester United!"  
>"Good choice, they're one of the best. Not my preference, but still good."<br>"Lanaaaaaa?" Said Feliciano, like he was a small child trying to convince his parents to let him stay up past bedtime  
>"Whaaaaaaat?" I responded in a similar tone<br>"Do you have a boyfriend?"  
>"WHAT?"<br>"Feliciano Vargas! You don't just ask people that out of the blue!" Ludwig facepalmed, and then swatted Feli upside the head  
>"I don't mind the question, it's just unexpected is all..." I shrugged and went on, "To answer that, no, I don't."<p>

I could see this look of…well, what was that a look of? It was a combination of joy, the look you get when you get a bright idea, and…relief, I think. I could see it on the faces of everyone except Feli. His expression didn't even change from his normal look of happy go lucky carelessness. We sat for a few seconds in perfect silence, and Roderich spoke first.

"Per-perhaps dinner is ready. Shall we move this to the dining room?"

We all nodded and moved a few rooms over. Apart from some idle chatter, our supper was relatively quiet. The food was excellent. As we were finishing up our dessert, a wonderful sachertorte, Ludwig addressed me.

"Ah, Lana, before I forget. My brother, Feliciano and I would like to invite you to our house sometime this week. How does Tueday sound?"  
>"It sounds great! What were you guys planning on doing?"<br>"Gilbert was thinking we could have you over for a 'game night'. It's immature, but I think he was saying something about a 'rock band'…"  
>"Oh! The game Rock Band! That's not immature at all. I'd be so down for that! I'll definitely be there. And tell Gilbert that he better be prepared to play his best. I won't go easy on him."<br>"**Ja**, I'll mention that."

Roderich raised an eyebrow at my enthusiasm for the game, and Feli made another ve sound. The night began to get late, and Ludwig practically dragged Feli out the door, saying they had an early morning for training or something along those lines. Arthur said he was in no hurry, so he could stay for a while yet. Roderich started clearing off the table, and I offered to help, but he said I was a guest as well, and wouldn't have it. I mentioned that we should probably move to another room, maybe outdoors as it was a nice night. Arthur agreed and we went in search of a place to stay for a while. We wandered through the house, and found a large balcony attached to a ballroom. Just when I thought Roderich's house couldn't get any more Baroque, it did. Arthur offered an arm gallantly and I took it. We walked out into the cool night air together and I sighed happily.

"I haven't seen a night this calm and peaceful in a while…I could stay out here all night." I said, gazing up at the stars  
>"It is beautiful out here. Of course, it wouldn't be half as lovely if one was out here alone…" He trailed off<p>

I looked at him, wondering if he had anything else to say. It seemed as though he was implying something. Arthur looked back at me, and I hadn't noticed how intensely green his eyes were until now. He released my arm from the crook of his, and softly held both of my hands in his. What the hell was going on today? The sudden influx of romance was confusing me. In the moonlight, I saw Arthur turn red.

"Lana, I-I have something t-to say to you." Arthur stammered  
>"Go on…" Was it just me, or did my voice waver for a moment?<br>"Ever since you came here, I foun-"

What he was going to say was cut off by some kind of weird rabbit bird thing flying right into his face. Ouch, cockblocked. In spite of the situation, I laughed. Whatever it was, it sure was cute.

"Hey! That wasn't called for!" Arthur scolded the creature  
>"Arthur, what is that thing? It's adorable!"<br>"It's the Flying Mint- hold on. You can see him?"  
>"Of course I can see him! I wouldn't be pointing it out if I couldn't see it."<br>"I thought only I could see him…the other representatives can't. They can't see any of my magical friends."  
>"What, you mean like that unicorn behind you and the fairy on your shoulder?"<p>

**A/N: And so England and Austria become the frontrunners for a relationship with Lana.** It just worked with what I've got written so far, which is a good 3 chapters ahead of what I have posted here.** Also, she can see England's magical friends. Aww yea. Review please!**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: In which the Flying Mint Bunny becomes a bit of a matchmaker, and feelings are said but not understood...read on...**

**DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING OF HETALIA**

I thought he was going to die of sheer happiness. The look on his face was priceless and adorable.

"Exactly!" Arthur gushed  
>"So, does this little guy have a name?" The rabbit thing was perched on my shoulder<br>"That's Flying Mint Bunny. Isn't he a delightful little thing?"  
>"Absolutely adorable."<p>

Flying Mint Bunny was doing laps around our heads, and I giggled as I watched the little guy go. On one of the laps, he must have stopped behind me, because neither of us could find him. Suddenly, I felt myself shoved hard, and I lost my balance. Arthur caught me, and the both of us looked at Flying Mint Bunny.

"Minty," I said, nicknaming him, "what was that all about?"

The bunny looked as though it was grinning, and flew away. What he was trying to do suddenly hit me, as I realized the pose Arthur and I were in. His hands were around my waist, and I was holding on to his shoulders. I righted myself, but neither of us let go. We gazed at each other for a moment, and then I noticed just how close Arthur's face was to mine.

"Arthur, it's nearly midnight. Just thought you should know." Roderich called from inside.

We both jumped at the sudden interruption. Arthur looked mildly annoyed at Roderich, but he didn't let go of me.

"I should probably go…" He said, his voice barely above a whisper.  
>"It is getting late." I murmured<p>

Despite what we had both said, neither of us moved. We stood there in each other's arms for a while. Roderich poked his head onto the balcony from the ballroom and coughed surreptitiously. Arthur and I skittered to opposite sides of the balcony, and this time, he headed for home. I avoided Roderich's stare and went upstairs to my room. I changed into my pajamas, and Roderich knocked on my door.

"Lana?"  
>"Hm?"<br>"Are you decent?"  
>"Yeah, c'mon in."<p>

My definition of decent pajamas is a tank top and gym shorts. I opened the door and let him in. He had taken off his jacket and rolled up his sleeves, leaving him in a dark vest on top of his white shirt.

"What went on between you and Arthur tonig-I thought you said you were decent?" Roderich began but then quickly averted his eyes  
>"I am. At least, by my definition I am."<br>"Err, right. Well…I suppose I'm curious as to what transpired on that balcony."  
>"Oh, nothing. We just went outside to admire the night and I ended up being a klutz. No big deal."<br>"Are you sure? You wouldn't look at me when you two separated from each other and that position could have been romantic."  
>"…fine. I'm not sure. I don't know what's been going on with all of you! When I went shopping with Feli, Arthur acted all weird and now tonight happened. Then our piano lesson. No, don't look like you have no idea what went on there! That was a solid awkward silence. And tonight, everyone except Feli acted all super happy when I said I had no boyfriend."<p>

I didn't mean for all of it to gush out at once, and I covered my mouth in shock. Roderich's expression changed so rapidly from one to another that I couldn't read it even if I concentrated. He finally settled on a neutral face and took a deep breath.

"The only explanation I have for you is that perhaps some of us are beginning to find ourselves drawn to you."  
>"Like…romantically?" I raised one eyebrow and then dropped it<br>"Yes. Romantically."  
>"Hoo boy. I mean, I like all of you, it's just…so many of you are in that category, and I have no idea what to do!"<br>"Sleep on it. Perhaps the answer will come to you in the morning. Good night, **liebe**."  
>"What does that mean? Roderich?"<p>

But he had already left and I highly doubted he could hear me. He was probably right. I would have a better idea of what to do if I just didn't worry about it and slept on it. As soon as I slipped into the bed, I was down for the count. Until about four in the morning…I woke up to a girl with long brown hair with a flower in it staring at me whilst wielding a frying pan. It was like a bad horror movie.

"WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU?" I yelped  
>"I should be asking you that." She said, as she beat her frying pan menacingly against her free hand<br>"Dover, Lana. I'm staying here for the time being. And you are…?"  
>"Roderich's wife."<br>"Wife? He never mentioned a wife."  
>"That's because she's not my wife. Not anymore. Elizabeta, how did you get in and why are you here?" Roderich was standing in the doorway of my room, hair dishevelled from sleep. He was still wearing the shirt and vest, which made me think he fell asleep in it.<br>"I came to see how everything was going." She lied through her teeth  
>"Please, let's not sacrifice our friendship over this. That's not the truth and you know it."<br>"How do you know?"  
>"How long was I married to you?"<br>"Good point. I heard from Gilbert that you had found yourself a new girl. I guess I got jealous. I came in through the open window of the kitchen."  
>"You don't need to be jealous of Lana. She's simply staying here until she can get her bearings. Besides, when has Gilbert ever been trustworthy?"<p>

Elizabeta laughed and left. I was left sitting up in bed, severely weirded out over the whole affair. I looked at Roderich as he was about to leave, and felt the need to mention something.

"Aren't you two a little young to be married?"  
>"It was political. Age didn't matter." Said Roderich<br>"Do you still love her?"  
>"Do I what?"<br>"Do you love her?"  
>"It's been over for a while. I've moved on."<p>

With that, he left. I flopped back down onto my pillows and fell back asleep. I woke up several hours later to my ipod alarm blaring AC/DC's Thunderstruck. Hopping out of bed, I cracked my back and shuffled down to the kitchen. It was almost 11 in the morning, and it looked like Roderich had already eaten and gone on to his daily chores. I grabbed a pastry out of a basket and began chowing down. There was a note on the counter that said,

"Lana, if you wake up and I'm gone, which is very likely as it is currently 9:15, I will be back as soon as I have finished my errands."

**A/N: There was some strong language, but let's face it. That's how most of us would react if we woke up to someone menacing us with a frying pan. We'll see what Lana gets up to in the empty house next time. Review please!**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: We get a bit of drama in this chapter, and a bit more romance. Read on...**

**DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING OF HETALIA**

It was signed Roderich. I figured he had stepped out. I busied myself around the house, cleaning up after myself and generally wandering aimlessly. I went into the piano room and thought I should practice. I looked at the Prelude with all its sixteenths, and I decided to work on something different. Something a tiny bit easier. However, Roderich didn't have a whole lot of what I'd call easy music. I rummaged through a box beside the piano, filled to the brim with scores, to find a piece I at least knew. Aha! Habanera from Carmen. Here we go, something I at least recognized. I lost myself in the music. It just oozed seduction. I played it surprisingly well for someone who was just beginning to learn piano. When I broke it down, all the piece came down to was a series of chords. I played it a few more times, and when I was happy with how I played it, I got up to leave the room and walked into…

"Ivan?" I jumped, startled  
>"Da, it's me." He smiled happily<br>"How did you get in?"  
>"Roderich didn't lock his door. That wasn't very smart of him."<br>"Do you want something?"  
>"I want you to become one with Mother Russia!"<br>"Uhm…besides that."  
>"Not really."<br>"…right then…can I get you a drink or something?"  
>"I'm fine, da?"<br>"Ok…"  
>"You look cold. Here."<p>

He put his large jacket around my shoulders. I wasn't cold, but something in his personality made me think I shouldn't point his out. Ivan grabbed one of my hands and began dragging me toward the open door.

"Hey! Ivan! What are you doing?" I struggled, but he was stronger  
>"We're going to my house now, da? My sisters want to meet you and I don't think anyone will mind if I borrow you for a few weeks."<br>"Actually, they will mind. I'm supposed to be somewhere with your fellow representatives Tuesday."  
>"Ah. Well, I'll be back for you, da?"<p>

He let go of me, took his coat back and left the house with a cheery wave. I shivered. Had I just been the victim of an attempted kidnapping? I didn't want to think about it, but I knew I had to mention it to Roderich when he got back. I was so jittery. I walked back to my room and turned my ipod on in an attempt to calm down. The song of choice was LMFAO's Party Rock Anthem. After a verse, I could feel myself wanting to get up and dance, so I started to shuffle around my room.

"_Every day I'm shufflin'…" _

Now, I'm not the best dancer in the world. But I'm not bad either. The only things I can do are social dances, like waltzes and polkas; and shuffling. It may not look like dancing, but it counts. So imagine my surprise when Roderich came home and found me in my room, looking like I was having a spaz. I stopped mid shuffle, with one leg up and one leg down.

"What on earth was that? Are you alright?" Roderich said, bewildered  
>"It's a type of dancing, called shuffling." I panted. Shuffling is pretty exhausting!<br>"Dancing. Really."  
>"You bet! Here, I'll show you. You put one foot like this, and the other one goes like that, then it alternates."<p>

We must have been quite the sight, with me in my pajamas and Roderich in his "casual" clothes, which were still more formal than my casual clothes, shuffling together. Actually, it was more like me teaching him how to shuffle. He gave it a try, but stopped a few moments later as it "wasn't to his taste". I figured as much. Quickly, what had happened earlier in the morning came to the forefront of my mind, and I brought it up with Roderich.

"Oh, Ivan dropped by earlier." I tried to sound as nonchalant as I could  
>"And?" His eyes locked on mine<br>"He…ehm…he…well, there's really no delicate way to put this. I almost got kidnapped."  
>"WHAT? Ivan…"<br>"He said something about becoming one with Russia and how he wanted to borrow me for a few weeks."  
>"Lovely, just lovely. I think we may have to hide you until things settle down."<br>"I was thinking that too. Where though?"  
>"Tuesday, when you go to Ludwig's house, don't leave. I'll send along a few of your things. Stay there until I let you know it's safe to return here. If I know Ivan, which I do, he'll prowl around here until he gets what he wants. I'll tell him that you moved and throw him off the trail. Alfred and Ivan don't get along well, so I'll say you went there. He won't bother with you then."<br>"Thank you, Roderich. For everything. I've occupied your house and been a bit of a hassle."  
>"I don't mind. I never did."<br>"How long do you think I'll be gone?"  
>"I don't know. Ivan is rather stubborn, so it could be a while. Or he could be surprisingly cooperative and it could last lest than a week. What matters is your safety."<p>

I must have looked terrified, because the next thing I knew, Roderich had pulled me into a tight embrace. He was normally so neutral with his emotions. I suspected some sort of force at work here. And I could have sworn that force's name was Cupid.

"I could never forgive myself if something happened to you." He whispered as he smoothed a flyaway strand of hair  
>"Don't worry, I'd never let anything happen." I said, my suspicions essentially confirmed<br>"Isn't it time for your daily piano lesson?"  
>"I think it is."<br>"Come on, let's begin."

We walked hand in hand towards the grand piano. Taking up our customary seats on the bench, I did a few warm up scales before showing Roderich what I had been working on.

"While you were out, I was playing this and I think I was doing pretty well on it. Tell me what you think." I said, as I pointed to the sheet music

I placed my hands above the keys, counted myself in, and began the song. Whenever Roderich played, he showed such emotion in his music, and I was beginning to do the same. As I played, I moved with the music. I knew the lyrics to it, and I was running through them in my head in time with the music. The Habanera was a classic, pretty much anyone who knew classical music knew the Habanera from Carmen. I played the final chords and Roderich smiled wryly.

"Any reason for choosing that particular piece?" He asked  
>"I don't really know…I guess I was feeling a little flirtatious when I chose it." I grinned provocatively<br>"Oh? Did you have a target in mind?"

I knew what he was hinting at. He wanted to know if I was using this piece as an expression of my feelings towards him. The only problem was that my affections were torn between him and Arthur!

**A/N: Oh snap. Love triangle! I wish I could shuffle like Lana can...but every time I try, I fall over. Oops ^^. Review please!**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Things are gonna get heated...time for Lana to lay the moves on the musician.**

**DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING OF HETALIA**

I tried to be mysterious and I answered,

"Maybe I did…maybe I didn't."  
>"I rather think you did. Time will tell." Roderich said, with a knowing glimmer in his eye<br>"It sure will."  
>"Let's talk technique. It was good; you picked up the essentials quite quickly. There were a few hand placement missteps here and there, but in the span of a couple days, you have progressed into a fairly good pianist."<br>"Thanks! We should duet some time. You, me, the piano and a roomful of beautiful emotions."

Roderich turned bright red and was reduced to a stammering mess. I laughed at his reaction and slid down the bench, so we were almost touching. I leaned in nice and close. He got even redder.

"Oh come on," I said, as sultry as I could, "You know I'm talking about music, don't you?"  
>"I-I think s-so…" He tensed up as I trailed one finger down his arm<br>"Then why are you so flushed?"

He stuttered a bit more and I stood up, excusing myself to get dressed. I shot him a wink as I left, and waited around the corner for a few seconds, out of sight. 3…2…1… I silently peeked around the doorway. I saw Roderich exhale and flop down onto the top of the piano. Grinning, I went and threw on some clothes. As I was changing, I heard Roderich playing louder than he normally did. I think he was playing so I could hear it. It wasn't even two chords in and I knew the song. I walked back to the piano room and sang along with him.

"_Say you'll love me every waking moment, Turn my head with talk of summertime. Say you'll need me with you now and always. Promise me, that all you say is true. That's all I ask of you."_

Roderich looked up at the sound of my voice, and played it through until the finish.

"I love Phantom of the Opera! It's so romantic…" I sighed  
>"I was hoping you would hear me playing." He got off the bench and stood to face me.<br>"Why's that?"  
>"You know that often, I express my emotions through music…"<br>"Mhm…?"  
>"I was playing it-"<br>"-to show me how you feel."

He nodded. Suddenly, the room seemed to get a little warmer again, just like our first piano lesson. I felt my cheeks grow pink. I looked up and we locked eyes. His were…purple? No, they were more a shade of violet. As far as I knew, that was either super rare or not even possible. The silence was killing me, so I had to speak up.

"So who is it that you feel this way about? A secret someone? Whoever the lucky person is, they sure are-mmphf!" I was babbling, as I normally do when I have no idea what to do with myself.

My little tirade was cut short by Roderich's lips meeting mine. At first, my eyes widened, but then I closed them and just let it happen. It was as if time stood still. Our kissing grew more and more heated, and then we broke apart suddenly.

"I'm so- sorry, Lana. I shouldn't have…" His eyes went wide  
>"What are you apologizing for?" I whispered seductively<br>"Well I thought…"

It was my turn to cut him off. I grabbed him by the collar and looked around the room. He gazed at me, both confused and elated at the same time. Roderich made a noise like he was going to say something, but I shushed him. I led him to a small couch in the corner and pulled him down to sit on the couch with me.

"Lana, what are you-" He asked  
>"You'll see, Roderich. I'm just planning ahead." I grinned<br>"Why?"  
>"Because if we keep going the way we have been, we wouldn't have been able to stand even if we wanted to."<br>"I don't under-!"

He made a small noise of strangled alarm as I pulled off his glasses. They would just get in the way. I stroked his cheek as I brought my hand down to my side, and brushed against a small mole by the corner of his mouth. Roderich shivered and I could see his eyes flicker between mine and my lips. I pounced, wrapping my arms around his neck and crashing my lips onto his. He stiffened in surprise, but then wrapped his arms around my waist and gave in to the passion of the moment. We continued along this path for a good half an hour before we broke apart, hair all messed up and our faces flushed. In the moment, we had ended up in a position where I was on my back, looking up at Roderich.

"I think I know what you were talking about." He said, in a shaking voice

I raised my eyebrows teasingly and he laughed. Suddenly, he noticed the pose we were in and immediately scurried off me, onto the other side of the couch, with an "Oh dear…"

"What? Too scandalous for you?" I chuckled  
>"Just a tiny bit." Roderich admitted, sheepishly<br>"Alright, I can respect that."  
>"I didn't say I couldn't get used to it though. We should do this more often."<br>"Sure thi-wait what? Did I actually just hear that come out of Mr. Conservative Composer over there?"

He grinned playfully at me and walked out. I was left lying on the couch, wondering what had happened. Did he want us to become a couple? I was so confused. I shook my head vigorously to try to clear the fog that had just settled in it. I sat up and walked to my room to listen to some music. I think my ipod may have been trying to tell me something, as even though it was on shuffle, it would only play love songs. The rest of the day passed without anything else happening, and the next day was the same. Get up, eat, wander the house, play piano, get into romantic situation with Roderich, eat and sleep. Tuesday came with clouds and wind. I woke up around 12:30, to Roderich standing over me, concerned.

"Are you feeling well enough to go to Ludwig's soon?" He asked  
>"Of course! Why?" I was perplexed<br>"You weren't moving when I came in to wake you up two hours ago…"  
>"Oh, that's fine. As long as I was breathing. I feel really well rested, actually."<p>

I hopped out of bed and Roderich, satisfied that all was well, went downstairs to go ready a car for the trip to the airport. I threw on the faux lace t-shirt with the grey jeans and dragged a brush through my hair. Remembering the circumstances in which I was leaving, I trembled a bit out of nerves and took a deep breath as I joined Roderich. We drove to the airport and before I boarded my flight, I hugged him tightly and he placed a light kiss on my forehead.

"Be safe." He said  
>"That goes for you too, you know." I tried to smile jokingly, but it wavered<p>

I wished we could have stayed like that, but I had to board my flight. It was relatively short, and I pulled the hood of my jacket over my face once I left the terminal, just in case. Hailing a taxi, I told him the address and off I went. When I knocked on the door, I could hear Feli yell that he was going to get it. The door opened and I was brought off my feet by Feli bear-hugging me. For a lanky guy, he was strong.

"Ve~! Lana! Come in, we got everything set up. How long can you stay for?"  
>"About that actually… I need to speak to Ludwig about this." I said, as I stepped into the house and closed the door<br>"**Ja?** What about it?" Ludwig had come up behind Feliciano

The entire scenario that had happened Sunday morning was retold for Ludwig, whose expression of horror got worse when I mentioned that my attempted kidnapper was Ivan. He nodded as I describe Roderich's plan to him.

"We'll hide you well. Ivan should get bored after a few days and pick a new target." Ludwig sighed  
>"Hey! I can hear a girl! It's that hot chick, Lana! AWESOME!" Gilbert yelled from the basement, breaking the mood entirely<p>

**A/N: Trust Prussia to say something like that. Austria may have gone a bit OOC there but, personally, that's how any guy would act after being made out with, I think. Review please!**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Rock Band with Prussia? This could get interesting...**

**DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING OF HETALIA **

I laughed and we migrated down to the basement to give Gilbert some company and start the game of Rock Band. They had the normal set up of two guitars, one for bass, drums and a mic. I grabbed the drumsticks and smirked.

"Alright, let's do this! What song?" I said  
>"I'm fine with just pushing random and seeing what we get." Shrugged Ludwig, who had grabbed one of the guitars<br>"Suits me!" Feli smiled. He had the other guitar  
>"Awesome idea, but I'm more awesome." Gilbert nodded sagely. He had the mic<p>

We pushed the random button and it gave us the song Are You Gonna Be My Girl by Jet. I was set on hard, Ludwig was on medium bass, Feli was on easy guitar and Gilbert was on hard. Being a somewhat regular Rock Band player, I knew the song and I did the best on the drum part. Well, that lucked out. As we played, Gilbert seemed like he was having a blast. He wasn't bad on vocals, and he was being really flamboyant, strutting around and acting like he really was a rock star. Feli was concentrating really hard and Ludwig looked like at first he didn't approve, but then started to warm up to it. We did pretty well on it. I got longest streak and Gilbert managed 100% vocals. It was then decided that we'd trade instruments and find a new random song. I was passed the mic for this one and Ludwig took drums, while Gilbert took bass. The song was Animal by Neon Trees. This was gonna be great. I decided to pull a Gilbert and actually perform while I sung it.

"_Here we go again; I kinda wanna be more than friends. So take it easy on me. I'm afraid you're never satisfied…"_

I winked at Ludwig, who just shook his head and kept playing. I danced around Feli for a few notes before the song ended and the scores were tallied up. 100% on vocals. Oh yeah.

"Now that is how it's done." I aimed a playful jab at Gilbert  
>"Bet you can't do anything like that on the other instruments."<br>"Wanna? I'm fully prepared to take that bet."  
>"Alright. If you get a higher score on guitar…"<br>"You need to be my servant for three hours."  
>"What?"<br>"A bet's a bet. Are you awesome, or not?"  
>"Well duh!"<br>"Then that's the condition."  
>"Fine, but it's the same if I get a higher score on guitar."<br>"Fine."

Random song time. Some sort of higher being must have needed a laugh, because the game chose Green Grass and High Tides, the game's hardest song at random. Gilbert's jaw dropped.

"Was not expecting that one!" He couldn't believe it  
>"Well, we have to do it. Even if it is for about ten or so minutes." I couldn't either<br>"That's what she said! Kesesesesesese~"

He laughed really weirdly. I facepalmed at the joke. Really Gilbert? We're gonna go there? I didn't make any comment back and chose medium difficulty. There was no way I was going to risk anything on this song. Gilbert smirked and selected hard. Good luck Gil, you're gonna need it. The song was really deceptive. It started off with some simple slow notes but sped up soon enough and then slowed back down and then sped up again and the majority of it was a guitar solo. Through the middle of the song, when our hands started to get tired, was when we started slipping up. For a while, all you could hear was guitar and swearing in English and German. After about ten minutes of arm-numbing gameplay, the scores were tallied. Me: 76%. Gilbert: 74%.

"NOOOOOOO! I'm too awesome for this!" Gilbert yelled in despair  
>"Really? The game says otherwise. And you know what that means." I grinned<br>"I'm not being your butler until midnight!"  
>"A bet is a bet. You have to do it!"<br>"I can always go back on my bet."  
>"Do that and I'm dumping all the beer in the house down the storm drain."<br>"What?" This time, Ludwig chimed in with Gilbert. They were both thoroughly mortified and I was dead serious. A bet is a bet.  
>"You heard me."<br>"But…but you can't! You're just a guest! You can't touch our booze!" Gilbert spazzed  
>"Actually, I'm going to be living here until Roderich sends word that I can go back to his house. Some of my stuff should be around in a few days." I said smugly<br>"This is so not awesome. Fine, but I'm only doing this for the sake of the beer."  
>"What do I care? Speaking of drinks, go fetch me a glass of water, will you?"<p>

I sat on a very old looking couch with a proud smirk and struck a pose like I was high society. Gilbert's eye twitched and he grumbled in German as he walked up the stairs to the kitchen. He slammed the glass down on a table beside the couch and I looked at him reproachfully.

"Temper, temper! Let's try to curb that, shall we?" I could barely keep a straight face  
>"Or you'll do what? Punish me?" He snapped back<br>"Remember the beer. I'm fully prepared to go through with that. And punish you? Does someone have a freaky turn-on?"  
>"Low blow, Lana. Low blow."<br>"Sorry, these things tend to just come out sometimes."  
>"Whatever…"<br>"I really am! What do I have to do for you to forgive me? We can't very well live together if we can't get along."  
>"You can let me seize your vital regions."<br>"My what?"  
>"Kesesesese…"<p>

As if red eyes weren't creepy enough already, they got even worse as he advanced on me. I began to slide onto the other side of the couch, trying to get away from Gilbert's insanity. Whatever vital regions were…I could tell it was something dirty by the way he said it.

"You know… those kinds of things." He said as he pointed to my chest  
>"GOD NO!" I covered my boobs with an arm and shot him a look of angry disgust<br>"Brother, leave her alone. She's here because of one creeper; let's not drive her out over another." Sighed Ludwig  
>"But West, I won't feel better until I have vital regions." Gilbert leered<br>"You'll feel even worse if you try any of that while Lana is here."  
>"Vital regions vs. days of pain… I still choose the vital regions."<br>"Gilbert Beilschmidt, you leave her alone and that's the end of it!"  
>"But <strong>bruder<strong>…"  
>"ENOUGH!"<p>

Gilbert stopped and sulked for the next hour. He was lucky all I wanted was the water, or I would have had him running all over the house to keep up his end of the bargain. Once we were done with the game, which meant once our appendages were sore from either strumming the guitars or pushing the bass pedal on the drum kit, I asked Ludwig where I'd be sleeping.

"Oh, there's a guest bedroom upstairs, next to my room. I'm not taking any chances with Ivan." He answered  
>"Good plan. I guess I'm off to bed then." I bid everyone good night and went upstairs<p>

I flopped down on the bed after turning off the light, in my clothes. It's not really comfortable to sleep in clothes but I'd have to make do for now. I was just about settled when I heard the door creak open with a "Kesesesese." Hang on. Doors don't make that noise!

"Gilbert," I muttered into the pillow, "Get out."  
>"<strong>Verdammen!<strong> How did you know?" I saw two red eyes glowing in the doorframe as I rolled over  
>"That stupid laugh. Doors don't sound like some Prussian guy laughing when they open up."<p>

He grumbled as he left. I rolled back onto my stomach and tried to sleep. It didn't last long, as I felt something crawl into bed with me.

**A/N: Oh no! It seems there's a bed invader on the loose. Hide yo kids, hide yo wife, hide yo husband... :P Review please!**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: If you guessed Italy was the bed intruder, you were right!**

**DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING OF HETALIA**

"Gilbert, if that's you, you are so dead." I groaned  
>"Ve~! It's Feliciano! Don't hurt me!" Feli huddled into a little ball on the other side of the bed<br>"Feli, why are you in my bed?"  
>"I thought you'd like some company!"<br>"That's very nice of you, but I'm fine on my own."  
>"You seem kinda cold, I don't think you will be fine."<br>"Ugh. If you really wanna stay that bad, then stay. Just don't try anything. I'm a light sleeper."  
>"Never! I'm not like Ludwig's brother!"<br>"I didn't think so. Where are you, exactly? You sound muffled."

Blindly, I groped around the sheets for a sign of Feli. My hand hit something soft and I dragged my hand along as it curled. Oh, that was Feli's hair curl. I heard a quiet noise that sounded like "nngg…" come from somewhere just below the covers. I pulled them back to reveal Feliciano's flushed face in the moonlight.

"Feli? What was that?" I was thoroughly puzzled  
>"That…that was sensitive."<br>"So when I hit your curl, that noise came out?"  
>"Yep."<br>"That sounded kinda like you were…erm…excited."  
>"It's 'cause that's what it does…"<br>"Oh lord! I am so sorry Feli!"  
>"No big deal. I just wasn't expecting that, is all."<br>"Alright. Might wanna keep that covered, I tend to punch things in my sleep. Once punched my cousin in the face when she came in to wake me up. I assume punching that curl would be like punching you in the balls."

He nodded with a little terrified whimper and stuffed a few pillows between us as a protective shield. I shrugged and rolled back over onto my back. After a few minutes, I began to doze off. I woke up to just myself in the bed and a yellow chick hopping around on my forehead. Picking it up, I trudged into the kitchen, where Ludwig was sitting reading a newspaper.

"Why the hell is it so bright?" I grumbled  
>"And good morning to you too." Ludwig sounded amused<br>"I'm not a morning person. Whose chicken is this?"  
>"That would be Gilbert's. He should still be asleep downstairs."<br>"Meh. I'm not going down there. Too much effort. He wants his bird back, he can come get it."  
>"Good morning Lana!" Feli was all bright eyed and cheery<br>"I see you didn't stay the night." I responded  
>"No, I was too worried you'd hit me, so I went to go sleep with Ludwig."<br>"Hit you?" Ludwig put down his paper, intrigued  
>"I punch things in my sleep. Always have. Bashed a cousin right in the kisser once." I answered<br>"Do you always speak so well in the morning?"  
>"Only when I get woken up by a chicken on my face."<p>

The two of them laughed and I set the bird down. It hopped down the stairs, to Gilbert, I assumed. I began to rifle through the cupboards.

"So what have we got in the way of breakfast around here?" I asked as I practically looted the place  
>"Not much. There's some cereal in the top left one." Ludwig went back to reading his paper<p>

That works. I scoffed it down as Gilbert trundled in. He didn't even so much as say anything to any of us, so we thought he must have had a bad night. The chick was perched on top of his head. It was a ridiculous sight. We sat at the table in peaceful silence until Feli started bothering Ludwig to play soccer with him. He went at it for a solid five minutes before something had to be done.

"I'll play soccer with you Feli. I used to play keeper when I was younger." I offered  
>"Yay! We can play two a side!" He beamed<br>"I just need something to play in besides jeans."  
>"You can wear one of my old jerseys." Ludwig put down his paper, again.<br>"Sure."

Within fifteen minutes, we were all out in the backyard with goals marked as spaces between trees on opposite ends of the yard. I was wearing an old blue German national uniform from the seventies. Ludwig was wearing the current home uniform of Germany, Gilbert was wearing the away and Feliciano was wearing Italy's home jersey. We had flipped coins for teams and I was paired up with Gilbert, who dubbed us "Team Awesome." I took my place in net and the game began. Ludwig was playing keeper for his team and he was like a wall. Nothing got past him. I was trying as best I could, but Feli was one hell of a forward. He scored a beautiful goal on me just above my reach and ran around the backyard yelling "GOAL!" I laughed at Gilbert's reaction.

"I'll show him an awesome celebration…" Gilbert said as we put the ball back into play

After another few minutes of stalemates, Gilbert sped past Feli and faked out Ludwig to tie it up one to one. He looked at me, then to Feliciano and ripped his shirt off. He danced around, shirtless, twirling the upper half of the jersey in his hand. I just stared at him. He was insane, but hot DAMN was he toned! His pasty skin reflected the sunlight and I could see a very obvious six pack. The moment didn't last long, as Ludwig yelled at Gilbert to put his clothes back on. We kept the game going for another half hour, and it ended in the 1-1 stalemate. We all flopped down on the grass for a rest and laughed about the game.

"I can't believe you ran around half naked." Ludwig sighed at Gilbert  
>"Hey, that's how awesome people celebrate goals." Gilbert grinned<br>"Did you have a nice game?" A voice asked from a bush behind Feli, who had fallen asleep.  
>"err…yea. Who is that?" I stared hard at the bush<br>"You know me, da?"

Ivan! He found me! SHIT! I jumped up as a visibly evil aura started emanating from him. He said something about borrowing me, but I was already running. Who cares that we had just finished a soccer match, when you have adrenaline, anything is possible. I sped off out the gate and down the road. I could hear Ivan running behind me chanting "kolkolkolkol" or something like that. It just made me want to run faster, but there's only so long you can last on fear and adrenaline. I made it about ten blocks when my body gave way. I just couldn't go any further. I rounded a corner and tried to catch my breath, when I felt something grab me from behind and yank me into an alley. Oh my god. I'm so done for. I closed my eyes tight and expected the worst when…

"Lana? Why are you running?" I opened my eyes and saw Kiku, whom I had met at the conference.  
>"It's Ivan, he's trying to kidnap me. Why did you pull me in here? I nearly had a heart attack!" I freaked<br>"Prease, quiet down. He may hear you."  
>"Ok, how did you know to pull me in here."<br>"I sensed the mood and thought it was the best choice of action."  
>"You're kinda strange, you know that?"<br>"**Hai.**"

I flattened myself up against the wall as I felt a passing feeling of evil go by. It was Ivan's evil aura. Exhaling, I turned to thank Kiku, but he was gone. I will never understand some of these guys. I panted with relief as I felt my lungs heave from the sprint. Peeking out, I saw Ludwig searching high and low for me.

"Ludwig!" I whispered as loud as I could, trying not to get caught by Ivan, who was probably still around here somewhere.  
>"Ivan! Are we all saying names?" Ivan was right behind me. What the hell? After all that effort to run. Ugh.<br>"You!" I said, spinning on my heel  
>"Me!"<br>"Why are you following me?"  
>"I'm borrowing you now. Off we go, da?"<p>

**A/N: This doesn't look good for Lana! What will happen to her? Find out next chapter. Also, if you would like to see her enter into a solid relationship with one country, tell me over a private message and the country that gets the most votes by the 19th of November will be her special someone. One vote per person. I'll find a way to write it in during a later chapter. Review please!**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Reminder of the poll over private message from last time. If there's a country you're dying to see seriously romanced by Lana, send me those votes! Time to see what kind of predicament she got herself into now.**

**DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING OF HETALIA**

I made a ruckus as he picked me up and threw me over his shoulder. I kicked as hard as I could and I only got a creepy laugh in return. I saw something out of the corner of my eye that looked like a faucet pipe. Then I blacked out. I woke up god knows how many hours later in a bed that smelled of…of…cabbage rolls? I groaned. Ivan must have wailed me on the head with that rusty pipe of his. I sure as hell hope I don't have tetanus or whatever it is you get from being injured with rusty metal. I could hear a bouncing noise and someone scurrying about in the room.

"Oh, **добре**! You're awake!" It was a woman's voice, and it was a Ukrainian woman. Thank god for language classes!  
>"Depends on what you count as awake." I sighed<br>"You're talking! Here, you're too thin. Eat something!"

She had laid out a smorgasbord of Ukrainian foods, and as soon as I could smell it I sat up in bed, not caring one bit for the fact that I was here against my will. Hell, feed me like this more often and I'm never leaving. I looked at her and she had ENORMOUS boobs. I mean like you can't stand up because your boobs are so large type boobs. Suddenly, I felt very, very grateful for my average chest. She must suffer awful back pain. I felt like she was nice, so I decided to get to know her to gain some info on where I was.

"So…" I said, between bites of a pampushky, a dinner roll type thing  
>"Yes? Keep eating, I shouldn't be able to hear any noises from you!" She answered, urging me on.<br>"What's your name? Do you live here?"  
>"<strong>Так<strong>, I live here. This is my house! **Мене звати** Yekaterina! I'm Ivan's older sister."  
>"<strong>Мене звати <strong>Lana."  
>"Are you Ukrainian too?"<br>"Nah, I just took it as a language requirement."  
>"Oh, I see."<br>"So, what am I doing here?"  
>"Well, Ivan told me to look after you for a few days until the adoption…"<br>"What adoption?"  
>"KEEP EATING! Don't tell me<strong> брат<strong> didn't tell you!"  
>"Tell me what?"<br>"He's going to adopt you! So you can live with him!"

I spat out the **ковбаса**, or sausage, that had been in my mouth. WTF? Isn't he a bit young to be a dad? Aren't I a bit old to be adopted? I voiced these concerns to Yekaterina.

"He's not at all! And you aren't either! You're the perfect age to become a city!" She beamed  
>"A city? Kat, are you off your rocker?" I was beginning to be worried for my health<br>"**Так**, a city! Do you not want to be adopted? Ivan will be so sad…" She started to sniffle  
>"Don't cry! Don't cry! It's just that this is really unexpected and I don't know what you mean by city."<br>"Well, with Ivan as Russia, it's only natural that if he adopts you, you become a city!"  
>"Wait, what? Ivan as Russia?"<br>"Don't you know about us? About the entire World Conference?"  
>"No! Obviously there's something I've been missing!"<br>"Well, I'll tell you then. This may come as a shock."  
>"Kat, with all I've been through, that'll take a lot."<br>"Here goes… the representatives don't just act on behalf of their country, they are the country. We are all the countries, just shown as human. We don't really die, unless the country stops existing, but even then, we don't really die. Prussia hasn't existed for hundreds of years, but Gilbert's still alive. I am Ukraine, just as Ivan is Russia. When Ivan adopts you, you will become like us. You will be both Lana and Novosibirsk. As soon as the papers are signed, you won't die either, unless the city stops existing."  
>"Holy shit…"<br>"Language!"  
>"How the hell else do you expect me to respond? I don't know whether to believe you or call you crazy, or call myself crazy!"<br>"Ask anyone else from the Conference, and they'll all say the same thing. Please don't be mad about this!"

She started to cry again, and I had to pat her on the back and tell her that I believed her to get her to stop. I didn't know what to do, and I felt helpless. I swung myself onto the side of the bed and threw off the covers. Yekaterina walked out with the food, promising to be back in another hour or so. I rested my head in my hands and began conjuring up a plan to either prove or disprove her statement and get out of here. As hard as I thought, I couldn't come up with anything. Suddenly, I heard gunshots outside and the window of the room broke in a spectacular show of powdered glass. A man with blonde hair, a pistol in his right hand and a shotgun slung across his back came in through the window.

"Who…? What…?" I stared at him  
>"Vash Zwingli, Swiss representative. I came with Arthur and Ludwig. Let's get you out of here." He seemed super trigger-happy<p>

I hopped onto the ledge of the window and slowly lowered myself to the ground. He just full on jumped out of it. Let it never be said that Swiss people aren't badass. Or should it be that Switzerland isn't badass? God, I don't even know now. We ran, ducking behind trees and bushes to where Arthur and Ludwig had hidden a car. The passenger seat in the front was open, so I did one of those Starsky and Hutch "slide across the hood and in through the window" moves to save time. Arthur was driving and he gunned it as fast as he could, driving westward. I exhaled the breath that I didn't realize I'd been holding. I checked the side mirror to make sure Yekaterina didn't tell Ivan that I was gone, because I knew he'd be on our tail faster than Francis on a pretty girl. Ludwig put his hand on my shoulder and I turned as best as I could to face him.

"Are you alright?" He was very pale from the whole ordeal  
>"I'm okay, I guess. I got a nasty hit on the head, and I'm a bit shaken, but apart from that, nothing else is wrong." I sighed<br>"Hit on the head? From what?"  
>"A rusty pipe. I was squirming too much, I suppose."<br>"The bastard…"  
>"Well, looks like our plan failed horribly. What do we do now?"<br>"I might have an idea." Said Vash  
>"Go on." I looked at him<br>"We have to get you out of Europe. Perhaps England would be far enough, but we need to get you as far away from Russia as we possibly can."  
>"From Russia?"<br>"You know, Ivan."  
>"As in Ivan is Russia?"<br>"And I'm Switzerland and Arthur is England and Ludwig is Germany, yes."  
>"So Yekaterina was telling the truth…"<br>"You didn't believe her?"  
>"I didn't want to. Ivan wanted to make me Novosibirsk by adopting me. I didn't think that was possible."<br>"No, it's been done before." Arthur spoke for the first time during the drive  
>"Oh?"<br>"Alfred has something like 50 children, all of them his states."  
>"Let me get something straight. You're all personifications of countries."<br>"Right."  
>"And yet you're all human, but sort of immortal."<br>"Correct."  
>"This is both really strange and sort of cool all at once. How old are all of you then?"<br>"We all got stuck at a certain age. It just happened. I got stuck at 23."  
>"…to think, I was going to become immortal at 20…"<p>

The idea was both terrifying and oddly appealing. I lost myself in thought for half an hour as we drove on. Immortality would be both a gift and a curse all at once, and there was no way in hell that I wanted to be related to Ivan in any way. I found myself drifting off to sleep when Vash spoke up.

"You know," He said, "There is a way that you could become like one of us without adoption."  
>"Which is?" I was mildly intrigued but I really wanted to sleep.<br>"Marriage."  
>"Err, yes, well, let's just keep driving, shall we?" Arthur blurted out<p>

**A/N: Translations: ****добрe=good, ****Так=yes, ****Мене звати=my name is,** **брат=brother. And so Lana finds out just what these representatives really are. I figured it was high time to let that be known to her. Don't forget to vote! Review please!**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: And so, Lana escapes the clutches of Russia and finds romance...**

**DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING OF HETALIA**

I grinned at him as I closed my eyes again. I woke up to something soft on my cheek. My eyes fluttered open and I saw that it was Arthur's lips. He turned bright red and I smiled.

"We just crossed into the Netherlands, if you want to stretch." He said  
>"How long have I been out for?" I blinked a few times to clear my eyes<br>"Almost twenty hours. We didn't want to wake you earlier because we figured you needed the rest."

I nodded and got out of the car, my legs a bit wobbly from not having stood up in almost a day. Arthur was right there, his hands on my shoulders, steadying me. I found my balance and we started walking along a secluded path, not far from where we hid the car. Arthur put one arm around my waist, pulling me close to him. I could feel his heartbeat through his clothes. It was going a mile a minute.

"Arthur? You ok?" I looked at him with concern  
>"Hmm? Oh, I'm fine. No need to worry about me, love." He smiled back<p>

Did he just…? He did. I think I know what Kiku, or should I say Japan, was talking about when he said that stuff about sensing the mood. Something was going on with Arthur to make his heart beat like that. Maybe he was experiencing what Roderich went through last week? Oh! Speaking of Roderich…

"Did anyone tell Roderich where I've been?" I asked  
>"Ludwig called him a few hours ago. He's going to send your things along to Alfred's house. Ivan hates Alfred, so we should be fine there."<br>"Oh, ok."  
>"Erm, Lana?"<br>"Yea?"  
>"I was thinking…that is, I was wondering… Oh bugger it all!"<p>

God knows what he was trying to ask me, because he gave up, and with a fierce movement, brought my lips up to his and kissed me like there was no tomorrow. We must have looked like the famous photo, "V-J Day in Times Square", as he was wearing his formal uniform. The rescue probably interrupted a meeting or something like that. Breathless, we broke apart. My eyes met his.

"As soon as I heard you were missing, I had to come." Arthur said  
>"Did you?" I searched his eyes for some clue as to what he was feeling<br>"Of course! I think I love you!"

He looked shocked at the outburst that had just come from him, and I laughed lightly. Arthur looked back at me, silently asking what he didn't dare say out loud. He wanted to know if I felt the same way. Arthur or Roderich? Dammit, Lana, why do you put yourself in these situations?

"I fancy you too, love." I said, with a horrible cockney accent. It wasn't a lie, but I couldn't tell the whole truth…

We were swept into another passionate kiss. As time went by, we broke apart again. Arthur and I walked back to the car. It was Vash's turn to drive. Ludwig got shotgun and Arthur and I sat in the back. After driving for about four hours, we had to ferry across to England via Calais, and we stopped in London. We all got out at Arthur's house and I went to the nearest computer to book tickets on the next British Airways flight to Washington, where Alfred's house was. I flopped down in a very comfortable armchair, after finding that nothing was available.

"No flights?" Arthur walked in with a cup of tea  
>"Nothing. Not even so much as cargo space available." I sighed<br>"Well, I suppose we could take advantage of my…er…position…"  
>"What are you thinking?"<br>"We could use a restricted plane."  
>"Arthur, what does that mean?"<br>"I could pull some strings and get you on a plane normally reserved for when British dignitaries go abroad."  
>"I don't think that's really appropriate."<br>"There's nothing else available."  
>"Well…fine. Where'd Ludwig and Vash go?"<br>"They went home. Vash said he had target practice and Ludwig was needed back in Berlin."  
>"Which leaves us two, here until that plane's ready."<br>"Which will be in about an hour."  
>"What are we gonna do for an hour?"<br>"One or two suggestions do come to mind…"

He raised an eyebrow and gave me a devilish grin. I laughed and felt something fluffly sitting on my head. I felt around. Two ears, a body, two wings…Ah. Flying Mint Bunny. I picked it up off my head and set it down in my lap and petted it. Arthur looked delighted at its reappearance.

"I like her." A high pitched voice came from the bunny  
>"You can talk?" I nearly fell over in surprise<br>"Of course I can!"  
>"Oh."<br>"I like her, England! Why haven't you asked her out yet?"

Arthur nearly choked on his tea and it took me a minute to realize that Flying Mint Bunny was talking to him. I'm going to have to get used to interchanging country and human names. Yeesh.

"I…uh…that is…I…" He spluttered  
>"Go for it!" Said the bunny as it flew away<br>"Your friend's quite the little matchmaker." I laughed  
>"He's also quite the little git sometimes." Arthur grumbled<br>"He has a point though."  
>"Wh-what?"<br>"We should do something together, you know, as a couple."  
>"Should we?"<br>"Mhm."

I smiled at him, and he scurried out of the room to go make a call. Oh Arthur, you're so adorable when you're flustered. He returned after a few minutes, minus his uniform jacket and dress shirt. He was wearing a Union Jack t-shirt that displayed some seriously toned arms. Arthur gave me a small smile and let me know that we'd be leaving in about 45 minutes to catch the plane. I nodded and motioned for him to sit somewhere.

"I don't think standing there awkwardly is going to get anything done." I commented wryly  
>"No, I don't suppose it will...so…" He fiddled with the bottom of his shirt<br>"Yeah?"  
>"Would you like to watch a movie together sometime?"<br>"A date?"  
>"Yes."<br>"Of course!"

You could feel the joy and relief oozing off of him. He smiled and kissed me on the cheek as we got up to drive to the airport. As I was boarding the private jet, we set a time for the movie. He agreed to come to Alfred's house to pick a movie from his collection and watch it. We kissed on the runway and I boarded the jet, flopping down in an oversize leather chair. The flight took a good 6 hours, minimum. I amused myself to no end by exploring all the options of the jet, which put first class to shame. When the flight touched down at Dulles International Airport, I was ready to do something physical. I'd had enough sitting. Alfred was waiting for me.

**A/N: Jeez Lana, you're just romancing away, aren't you? Better be careful... The photo I referenced is the one with the sailor kissing the nurse at the end of WW2. It's relatively famous. Next up, Alfred's crazy house! Review please!**


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: The poll is over and the results are in. Germany will be getting a little loving! And now, we go to America's house...**

**DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING OF HETALIA**

"Dude, check this place out! Great airport or what?" He gushed  
>"…lovely." I smiled, not knowing how to respond<br>"Kay, well, you're gonna meet my kids when we get home. They'll love you!"  
>"How many do you have again?"<br>"50."  
>"And you keep track of all of them?"<br>"You bet! Let's go!"

Alfred's house was essentially in a cold war. As we went in the door, you could hear a very heated argument going on. I rounded a wall and saw the states in a sort of Mexican standoff. They had all grabbed whatever was close at hand and were all threatening each other with their makeshift weaponry. Talk about sibling rivalries! It wasn't really clear as to what they were arguing over, so Alfred tried to split them up.

"Yo! Kiddies! What's going on?" He was pretty unsuccessful in splitting them up, but hey, it was 50 to 1  
>"Oregon's hogging the remote!"<br>"Louisiana hit me!"  
>"Florida's alligator ate my sandwich!"<br>"Rhode Island won't move over on the couch!"  
>"Kansas is out past her curfew!"<br>"Oh, did I mention my kids don't usually fight like this?" Alfred turned and asked me  
>"No, you didn't really say anything about that." I laughed at the chaos of the room<br>"Ok kids! Listen to my total hero voice! We're gonna go in hourly shifts for the TV room, ok? The Midwest states get it first, then the South, then the Northeast, then the West. Be nice to each other and no pets on the couch. Also, no booby trapping the fridge just cause you want the food first. Arizona, you listening? I don't want another cactus flying at my face, dude. Cool beans?"

All of the states agreed to this and I was amazed at how well Alfred could parent his kids. For a guy who usually comes way out of left field with his ideas, he knew how to be a dad. Alfred essentially dragged me up the stairs after he had settled the spat. He showed me my room, which was like a hotel room. Nice, but decorated on the safe side to please everyone. It was obviously a guest room. Next, Alfred said he wanted a word with me in his office. I didn't know what it was all about, but I agreed.

"So, I was thinking…" He said, as he opened up a drawer and pulled out a burger. Seriously Alfred?  
>"And?" I motioned for him to go on. Was that thing even fresh?<br>"We should totally have a party! And we should get you a job."  
>"Okay…"<br>"What all do you know how to do?"  
>"I can write articles and such. It's kinda what I'm looking to get a career in."<br>"I have the best idea ever! You can be the World Conference's secretary!"  
>"But shouldn't I…"<br>"You'll be fine; I just let everyone else know!"

In between eating the burger and talking to me, somehow Alfred had managed to text all of the nations and tell them of my new job. Thanks for not letting me have a say in this! Ah well, a job is a job. I'll take it. We then turned the topic of discussion to the party that Alfred was thinking of hosting.

"Check it, how awesome would a costume party be?" Alfred smiled  
>"It'd be pretty great." I nodded in agreement<br>"Ok, so in three days should be enough time for everyone to get going. Let's find you a costume!"  
>"Maybe something like a princess?"<br>"Nah, too lame!"  
>"What then?"<br>"You could be a sexy Star Trek person…"  
>"Already went as that one year. Not around you guys, but still. Once was enough for me."<br>"Kay, fine."  
>"Do you have anything I could look through?"<br>"I have…the storage room. I refuse to go in there."  
>"Why?"<br>"It makes me depressed for the rest of the day."  
>"Oh. Well, I'm sure I'll be fine on my own in there."<p>

Alfred led me to a pretty big closet. It was a walk-in one and I was amazed at how much stuff Alfred kept. I thanked him and began rummaging around. Old bandana? Sure, that'll work. I could be a pirate! Yes! I began collecting bits and pieces that looked pirate-y. After hours of digging, I had a bandana, a Revolutionary War era jacket, an old ripped up maid's skirt (why Alfred had one, I'll never know), and a white blouse. It was perfect. I couldn't wait for the party to show it off. Three days was a while to wait though. I put my collection of goods in my room and the rest of the night went a lot quieter than when I had arrived. The States had stopped fighting and were all happily sitting in the TV room watching Captain America. Of course. I wasn't sure how supper would go with 52 people, but we went in shifts, much like the agreement reached earlier. At the end of the night, I was exhausted from the week of travelling and running, and I pretty much passed out on my bed. When I woke up in the morning, there was a package in my room. It was the stuff I had left behind in Roderich's house. Attached was a note that told me to stay safe and he would see me soon. It was signed "**Ich liebe dich.**" I made a note to ask Roderich what that meant, but I had a pretty damn good idea already. Well, thankfully I had all my clothes back so I could finally do some personal hygiene. Alfred burst into my room with a cry of "GOOD MORNING YO!" I smiled back.

"Today you start your job. For realz!" Was he drinking a Cola this early in the morning?  
>"Ohhkay…" I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes as I replied<br>"You get to type out the minutes of a NATO meeting!"  
>"Sounds like fun. What's the dress code?"<br>"Business formal."  
>"Cool."<br>"And it starts in ten minutes at Matthew's place."  
>"Dammit! You could have woken me up sooner!"<p>

But he was already gone. I showered, threw on the black blouse and the blue skirt, ate a corner of a slice of toast and ran out the door to catch up to Alfred. Once at Matthew's house, the various nations spent five hours getting nothing done. Count 'em. Five. I'd had enough and my wrists were killing me. I put forward a motion to end the meeting and go eat something. Several countries, including Arthur, seconded that. As I walked out of the room, I heard someone calling for me.

**A/N: Who could the mysterious yelling person be? Find out next chapter! Review please!**


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: Let's see what our dear heroine is up to now, shall we?**

**DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING OF HETALIA**

"Lana! I was wondering if you'd like to grab a bite to eat, eh?" It was Matthew  
>"Sure thing! Any good restaurants around here?" I slowed my pace and waited for him to catch up<br>"There's a Timmie's down the road…"  
>"Sounds good to me!"<p>

We smiled as we talked and walked. Matthew, as quiet as he was, was a very sweet guy. I don't see how the others can forget about him so easily. It was a little chilly outside and I hadn't brought a jacket with me. I involuntarily shivered and Matthew put his jacket around my shoulders.

"Won't you be cold?" I asked  
>"Oh, no, this is warm to me." He smiled<p>

The jacket was warm and soft. I could detect a faint hint of maple wafting off of it. It was so…relaxing. We got some coffee and sandwiches, and as we were sitting in the Tim Horton's chatting and laughing, I could see Matthew was looking at me as though he was in some sort of daze. I was a bit worried.

"Matt? Are you okay?" I leaned forward and gave him a little poke  
>"Yeah, you're fine…I mean I'm fine! Maple!" Matthew gave a start as he realized his slip of the tongue<br>"Good to know. We should be heading back, as Alfred will probably be going soon and without him I have no ride back."  
>"Okay, let's get a move on, eh?"<p>

I was inwardly laughing at Matthew's flustered blushing. If I remember correctly, Francis is one of his big brothers. After that little slip, you can tell that Francis rubbed off on him. We started to walk back towards the conference and I noticed that I was still wearing Matt's jacket. He was telling me about his kids, the Provinces, and how one of them was giving him grief. I offered the best advice I had, which was if they kept it up; make them sleep in the garage. It was what my parents would always say when I bothered them, but they didn't actually go through with it. Matt laughed and we continued our walk. I felt something warm come in contact with my hand, and when I looked down I saw Matt's fingers intertwine with mine. I looked at him and he blushed.

"Do you mind? I'll let go if you want." He said apologetically  
>"Not at all, this is quite nice, actually." I smiled serenely at him<br>"I heard Alfred was hosting a costume party, was that your idea?"  
>"No, it was all him. Are you coming?"<br>"Yeah, I just don't know what to go as."  
>"Well, I know I have a great costume idea. It'll look great."<br>"…Anything would look great on you."  
>"T-thanks! You're so sweet!"<p>

Matthew blushed and smiled. We walked back to the conference in happy silence, holding each other's hands. Alfred was already in the car and waiting. I went to run to catch my ride, as Alfred doesn't have the best attention span in the world and if I kept him waiting for more than five minutes, he would drive off. Matt stopped me for one moment and I looked at him inquiringly. He kissed my cheek and told me that he couldn't wait until he could see me at the party. I blushed and waved to him as Alfred drove away.

"Lana and Mattie, sitting in a tree…" Alfred said in a singsong voice after a bit  
>"Can it Alfred! I'd smack you for that, but you're driving." I grumbled<br>"Canada's got a crush on you!"  
>"I noticed."<br>"And what does Arthur have to say about that?"  
>"WHAT? What do you know?"<br>"Dude's my big bro. I know all."  
>"If you tell Arthur, or any of the others about that, for that matter, I will personally burn all of your hamburgers."<br>"Harsh! When you say the others, are there more loveydovey nations out there?"  
>"I'm warning you Alfred…"<br>"AHA! There are! How many more are like this?"

Luckily, we had just pulled up into the driveway of the house. I was saved from answering that as the states rushed out of the house all at the same time to ask their dad how the conference went. He was distracted with that so I took the opportunity to run upstairs and hide. I had to come out for supper though. Alfred gave me a stare that seemed to go right through to my bones.

"I won't judge, but I'll just say this. Be careful. We don't want another war on our hands." He said in a serious voice, the first time I'd ever heard him use that tone  
>"I'll try." I went back to scoffing down the food<br>"Trying might not be good enough. But that's the end of that. I booked a ballroom at the local Hilton for the party, which is the night after tomorrow night."  
>"Sounds good to me! PS, tomorrow Arthur is coming over and we're commandeering the TV room."<br>"The kids won't be happy about that."  
>"Too bad."<p>

The next day passed with little event, besides me waking up to California scrutinizing my closet claiming to be inspecting it before the date. I was going to wear the black and yellow star print sweater dress with leggings. It was deemed acceptable and California left. I amused myself until after supper, when Arthur showed up. I answered the door with a cheery smile and showed him to the TV room.

"I must say, you look amazing." Arthur said, as we began to rifle through Alfred's movie collection  
>"You look pretty handsome yourself." I winked at him.<p>

He was wearing an old Beatles t-shirt and jeans. My lord, did Alfred ever have a ton of movies! Blockbusters, indie films, foreign films, you name it, Alfred had it.

"Keep that up and we won't end up watching the movie at all." Arthur said coyly  
>"Why, whatever do you mean?" I played innocent and laughed<br>"I think you know exactly what I mean."

His green eyes softened as I grinned and looked at him. Emerald met light jade and we both noticed how the light in the room seemed to dim.

"Did…did you just notice that?" I asked  
>"I did. Hold on…" Arthur crept quietly towards the light switch panel, by the door.<p>

The door had also closed as well, which would explain why there was no natural light in the room. If you listened closely, you could hear giggling on the other side. Arthur opened the door and jumped out at whoever was laughing.

"Got you now! Texas? Really? I didn't think you were the type." Arthur had caught Texas red handed  
>"I'm not. Maine paid me to do it." Texas drawled before walking away<p>

Arthur shook his head and turned the lights back on as he walked back into the room.

"Well, where were we?" He wryly grinned  
>"I think somewhere in the Academy Award winners section." I replied<br>"Right."

We kept searching for something to watch. Arthur grew quiet when he saw Titanic, so that was definitely out. I can only imagine how much that must have hurt him. I suggested maybe something a bit more fun and less serious. On to the spy movie section.

"How about The Living Daylights?" I asked?  
>"A Bond movie? Sure!" Arthur beamed<br>"It's one of my favorite Bond movies."  
>"So you've seen a few then?"<br>"All of them. I once watched all 22 in a row without sleeping one summer. I felt so awful after but it was so worth it."

**A/N: Well, this one was full of romance, wasn't it? ^^ Not to mention some foreshadowing... Next, we see them watch the movie and some other stuff. Review please!**


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: In this chapter, we see what happens when you mix video games and Sealand...**

**DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING OF HETALIA**

Arthur laughed and we began to watch the movie. One of the most ridiculous Bond chase scenes ensued. Bond and the obligatory Bond girl, in this one her name was Kara, were running from the Soviets by using a cello case as a sled. Whether it was intended to be funny, I don't know, but it always made me crack a smile. I shifted my weight on the couch and as I did, I felt something on my shoulders. Taking a look, I saw it was Arthur's arm. I smiled at him and rested my head on his shoulder as the movie went on. As it ended, Arthur stood and I walked him to the door. I could hear some "aww's" in the background and I assumed it was the states spying on us.

"I can hear you guys, you know." I said with my back turned. I heard scurrying noises as they left  
>"Are you attending Alfred's party?" Arthur asked<br>"You bet! I have the best costume idea!"  
>"Oh? What is it?"<br>"You'll see."  
>"I'm sure it'll be fantastic. The party will be the perfect ending to a hectic day of the World Conference. Luckily, Alfred gets to host this one, so you don't have to travel around as much."<br>"No kidding. I think I spent more time travelling the first week or so than I did actually getting to know any of you."  
>"Well, good thing we made up for lost time."<p>

He grinned at me and we kissed goodnight. I skipped happily off to bed and as I was about to get changed, I heard Alfred fake cough.

"coughMattiecough"  
>"Oh shut up Alfred! I'll get that sorted out soon!"<p>

I slammed the door in his face and went straight to bed. The morning came early and sunny, and off to the World Conference we went. I slung a laptop bag over my shoulder, as I was supposed to be the secretary of this thing, which meant I had to type out and record everything that went down. As I walked down the hall, a young voice called out to me.

"Excuse me! Excuse me miss! I was wondering if you could help me!"

Turning to face the voice, I saw it was a young boy in a sailor suit. He bore a bit of a resemblance to Arthur and I wondered if they were related.

"Sure thing! How can I help you?" I beamed in a friendly manner at him  
>"None of the other countries recognize me as one of them and I want to know how to get them to notice me."<br>"Who exactly are you?"  
>"Sealand! Or Peter Kirkland."<br>"So you are related to Arthur!"  
>"Sadly, that jerk of jerks is my older brother, but he doesn't like to admit it." Peter pouted<br>"Well, I'm not a country myself, so I can't help you there."  
>"You're not?"<br>"No, I'm just the secretary. I keep the minutes."  
>"So you can't help me."<br>"Sorry, no."  
>"And I came all this way for nothing…"<p>

I saw him get downtrodden and I felt really bad for the little guy. There must be something I could do for him! He could help me with the minutes, but that's not entertaining for a youngster. Hmm…what entertained me when I was little? I know! I sidled up to Alfred and asked him if he had any game systems. Stupid question. Alfred had everything, from the Sega Genesis to the Xbox 360. And of course, he had every game ever released. It was time to introduce him to one of the most popular games in history. That would be The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.

"Sealand? Peter? What would you like me to call you?" I asked the little sailor  
>"Sealand works!" He seemed happy I was paying him some attention<br>"Ok, Sealand, do you like video games?"  
>"Do I? That's like asking America if he likes red, white and blue. Of course!"<br>"Ok. Seeing as the other countries are gonna be mean to you about the conference, I'll be right back with a surprise for you!"

I told him to wait right there and I ran to Alfred's house. I grabbed Alfred's N64 and his copy of Ocarina. I was directed to an empty room at the Conference with a TV and Sealand followed me. The game usually speaks for itself, but I felt that seeing as he was new to the Zelda series, it needed an introduction.

"So, in a nutshell, the point of this game is to rescue the Princess Zelda from the evil Ganondorf by beating his dungeons and monsters. It takes place over seven years and it can get a bit tough so I'll be watching the conference in here if you need help at all."

Technology never ceases to amaze me. The conference had a live streaming feed on the internet that I would take my notes off of.

"Got it! Time to beat this Ganondorf bully!" Peter sat himself down at the game and I didn't hear anything from him for an hour and a bit.

I was busy typing out what I could translate of the latest fight between nations. You could hear bits and pieces of insults but nothing more. I guess this had to go in the minutes too. As I was typing, Sealand tapped on my shoulder and asked if I could help him with the "whale guy dungeon". Ohh, Jabu Jabu's belly. I smiled at him and took the controller. I did the puzzle for him and he took over. It went on like this for the rest of the conference, which was another four hours. I was impressed, Peter got all the way to the Spirit Temple! For a little kid, he could game pretty well. Once the conference was over, I explained that I had to take the game back to Alfred's house because it wasn't exactly mine and I couldn't lend it out without permission either. Peter understood and happily left the conference. Alfred came up to me after Sealand left.

"Yo, what was that all about?" He was really confused  
>"Multitasking." I shrugged<br>"Huh?"  
>"Well, seeing as Sealand isn't recognized by any of you, he couldn't attend. So I recorded the minutes and babysat him at the same time."<br>"Ohh, that's what the N64 was for!"  
>"Yep."<p>

Just then, I heard Sealand yell "Take that Ganondorf!" and Arthur yelp "What the bloody hell Peter?" Ehehehe...ok, so maybe introducing a vivid fantasy world to a young, impressionable mind wasn't the wisest choice. He's old enough to be fine, right? I was a bit worried and even more so when I heard Sealand say "Let's go Navi! We need to save the Princess!" Oh shoot. Alfred turned to look at me and raised an eyebrow.

"I know what you're thinking. Don't say it." I warned him  
>"You do know he's gonna be like that for a while now, right?" Alfred sighed<br>"I didn't know it at the time! Hell, it's how I was babysat and I turned out fine! …Mostly."

Alfred just shook his head in amusement and we set off for home to get ready for the costume party.

**A/N: Next up, America's party! Review please!**


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: Alright, time to see what the nations decided to come dressed as for America's costume party! This chapter marks the start of the relationship development between Germany and Lana, as per popular demand. Read on!**

**DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING OF HETALIA**

I put my pirate outfit on and messed up my hair for effect. A little hairspray and I was ready. Alfred was dressed up as Han Solo from Star Wars. It looked pretty good, considering it was homemade. I struck the Captain Morgan pose on a bench by the door and Alfred commented on how I looked like a girl Jack Sparrow. I grinned. We drove to the Hilton and waited for the rest of the nations to arrive. Yao came dressed as Chon Wang from Shanghai Noon; Kiku was dressed as Hatsune Miku…which mildly worried me, Francis came as Legolas from Lord of the Rings, Feli came as a musketeer, along with Ludwig, Gilbert and Lovino, they were the three musketeers and Feli was D'artagnan. Matthew made his way here riding a horse backwards while wearing a Mountie uniform. He was Dudley Do-Right from the Rocky and Bullwinkle show. I got the reference and had a good laugh at it. Then Arthur showed up, dressed as a waiter. It didn't seem too creative, until Francis told me that it was a rip-away outfit meant to only leave behind the cufflinks and the apron. I involuntarily blushed at the mental image, and Francis said it would happen if Arthur got drunk. Well then. Roderich showed up dressed as Jack Dawson from Titanic. It was a departure from his usual high-society garb, but it looked incredibly handsome on him. Frankly, I didn't think Titanic was his kind of movie, but I was wrong. There were a large amount of other people there, and I guessed they were nations I hadn't met yet. Alfred had hired a band for the event and the music playing was a combination of slow tempo and the upbeat tempo you'd hear at a nightclub. As they played a jazzy waltz, Roderich came up to me.

"Shall we dance?" He smiled as he offered a hand  
>"I'd love to." I beamed back<br>"You look fantastic. Where did you find your costume?"  
>"Alfred's closet. I was amazed at how much stuff he kept. You look pretty handsome as well."<br>"Thank you. I thought I may as well get away from my habit of dressing well for this one night."  
>"I've gotta say though, I think it'll be me showing you the real party instead of the other way around."<p>

Roderich laughed at the reference I made. He held me close as we swayed to the music and I felt at peace in his arms. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Alfred's mouth drop open as if to say "Him too?" I ignored him and looked up into Roderich's eyes.

"You have no idea how much I missed you." I whispered  
>"I'm sure you missed me just as much as I worried about you, <strong>mein liebe<strong>."  
>"What does that mean, Roderich? I keep hearing that second word from you."<br>"It means my love. **Liebe** is love."  
>"Oh, I see."<br>"And I missed you as well. The house just seemed empty without you."

He kissed my forehead as the song ended and Feli cut in. Feli wanted to have the next dance and I agreed. Roderich smiled softly at me, gave my hand a peck and went to grab a drink. I watched him walk away and Feliciano looked at me with a knowing grin.

"He really likes you, I can tell." Feli said as the two of us polkaed around the dance floor  
>"So can I." I giggled<br>"Think he's the right guy?"  
>"He just might be. Time will tell."<br>"Or you'll wake up one morning and be all happy and it'll be a sign! That happened with me, except it was for pasta."  
>"You're adorable! Is everything food with you?"<br>"Ve~… you bet!"  
>"Who came up with the idea for your group costume?"<br>"I did! I saw a movie of it a while back and I thought it'd be perfect!"  
>"It pretty much sums you guys up."<br>"Yay!"

We finished up and I went to grab a bite to eat. I saw Mattie standing over by the drink table and I went to say hi. His eyes went wide when he saw me coming over to him.

"La-Lana! You look so good!" He stuttered  
>"Thanks! That Mountie outfit is pretty dashing. I do like a man in uniform!" I winked and he turned red<br>"Are you having a good time?"  
>"Yeah! I'm surprised this many people want to dance with me, normally when I go to stuff like this, I have to pester the guys I know to dance with me."<br>"A pretty girl like you? They should be the ones pestering you."

I didn't know what to say in response to his flattery, and my face flushed. Matthew smiled at me and asked if I'd like to dance. It was a relatively fast number, a jive. We were quite the sight, a Mountie dancing with a pirate. I recognized the song as Chuck Berry's "Johnny B. Goode." An oldie, but a good song. I didn't know where Matt learned to dance, but he could dance with the best of them. After the two of us became exhausted, we flopped down at a table and chatted about anything we could think of. I wondered where Arthur had gotten himself to, when I saw him approach our table.

"Hello, Matthew. Having a little patriotic moment are we?" Arthur joked, but in a nice way  
>"You know it, eh?" Mattie grinned<br>"Ah, Lana! That's an interesti-…." Arthur turned to me but as soon as he saw me his sentence trailed off  
>"Arthur? Are you alright?" I said, a bit concerned<br>"What be this Arthur business? Ye'll address me as Cap'n Kirkland." His eyes had a wild gleam and it seemed as though he had snapped  
>"Look, just because I'm dressed as a pirate doesn't mean you have to join on the bandwagon."<br>"Bandwagon? Lass, ye've got an interestin' way of sayin' things."  
>"Arthur, you can stop any time now…"<br>"I told ya, it be Cap'n Kirkland. But we could get on a first name basis."

He leaned towards me, grinning pervertedly and I glanced over at Mattie, then to Alfred, then Roderich for backup. I pleaded with my eyes for some help. Mattie tried to snap Arthur out of it, but to no avail. Roderich came over with a look that would make even the most confident of people run away crying.

"Step away from her." Gone was the courteous gentleman, in his place was one very pissed off Austrian  
>"An' if I don't?" Arthur glared back testily<br>"Then we will have more than words."  
>"The wench is mine, Roddy."<br>"Have some respect for her! And how dare you call me that?"  
>"I can do what I please, an' none o' you can stop me."<p>

At this point I was picked up bridal style by Arthur. I was having flashbacks of Ivan, and it would be my luck that I'd get whisked away twice in as many weeks. I tried wiggling around, but that didn't help me much.

"Let go of me! Where are you taking me?" I raged  
>"We're goin' to go enjoy the seven seas, love. Spend some nice quiet time on me ship." Arthur smirked<br>"I don't like the sound of that quiet time, Arth-err… Cap'n"  
>"Trust me, ya will."<p>

How fun. At this point, Alfred tried to intervene using his hero voice, but Arthur just put me down and shoved him over. I made a break for it and took a page out of Feliciano's book. I hid behind Ludwig with a cry of "Save me!" He took a long, hard stare at Arthur and smacked him right upside the head. Arthur's eyes lost the wild glint they had and he looked extremely confused.

"What just happened?" Arthur's head swiveled around as he looked for answers  
>"You reverted to your pirate self." Answered Ludwig<br>"Oh bollocks. Did I pillage anything?"  
>"No."<br>"Plunder?"  
>"No."<br>"Have my wicked way with anything?"  
>"Just about, but I had the sense to smack you out of it."<br>"Who…?"  
>"Lana."<br>"God no! Damn, I must seem a total cad…"  
>"You bet your ass you do!" I stepped out from behind Ludwig<br>"I am so sorry about all of this. I had no idea."  
>"Oh like hell you didn't! You seemed like you knew pretty damn well what you were doing!"<br>"Lana, I-"  
>"No! None of that! I've had enough of being the helpless girl anyone can just pick up and waltz off with!"<p>

**A/N: Oh jeez. Lana's pissed off. This won't end well. Review please!**


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: Lord, I have been away from this too long. Let's hope I can get some semi-regular updates going now! Anywho, back to the impending drama...**

"But Lana, what about what we had before this happened? What about our budding love?"

I was going to answer, but I looked around the room and saw at least three shocked faces. One was on Mattie, one was on Roderich, one was on Ludwig and another was on Francis.

"You and her? I'll not have it! She loves me!" Roderich raged  
>"But she loves me, eh?" Matthew said<br>"You? Sod off, she's not your type." Arthur snapped at Mattie with disdain  
>"And who's to say she's your type either?" Ludwig fired back at Arthur<br>"Don't tell me you think she's the one for you." Roderich looked at Ludwig  
>"I can think what I want to, thank you very much!"<br>"Girls like the quiet type…" interjected Matthew  
>"They also like the passionate, lusty type." Offered Francis<br>"Stay out of this, frog!" Arthur glared at Francis  
>"Can I interject for one minute?" I raised my voice to be noticed over the din<br>"But of cour-oh, God Lana. Please tell me you didn't get that out of Alfred's storage room…" Arthur looked at my jacket  
>"I did, actually, why?"<br>"It's…it's from that time…"

With that, Arthur trudged off to the bar in a depressed funk. The yelling had stopped, but most of the nations were still glaring daggers at each other. I had no idea what to do with them, so I walked off to talk to Yao and Kiku, who had retreated to a table in the corner during all of this. I smiled at them as I sat down and Kiku looked past my shoulder at the extremely irate group.

"That was unexpected." He said  
>"Tell me about it. I never thought any of this would happen, and now they're coming close to a full blown war over me!" I sighed<br>"I think if you just leave them be, they'll sort it out, aru." Shrugged Yao  
>"I doubt that. Nice costumes by the way guys, very creative!"<br>"Thanks, aru!"

As we chatted away, I noticed Arthur get increasingly drunk. This cannot end well. He stormed away from the bar, ripped off everything but the apron and cufflinks of his costume (which left very little to the imagination, by the way) and dropped a declaration of war on the floor. It said that England was now at war with Canada, Austria and Germany. No! No way was I allowing this to happen over me! I ran over to Arthur.

"You can't do this! After two world wars, didn't you learn?" I put a hand on his shoulder to stop him walking off  
>"I can do anything I choose to! I bloody well know what happened before! Do you think I care? I'm doing this for you!" He brushed me off<br>"My point is you don't have to! I don't want the world destroyed over me! I don't want lives lost, just because I was an idiot and led all of you on at once!"  
>"It's too late for that. What's done is done." Ludwig said as he examined the declaration<br>"But… I don't want to see you hurt over something I shouldn't have done." I put my head down dejectedly  
>"We'll come back safely. I promise."<br>"And what am I supposed to do while you're all out trying to kill each other?"  
>"I don't know. Try not to worry, I guess."<br>"Oh, yeah, great advice from a guy about to march off to his potential doom for one of the most ridiculous reasons ever!"  
>"You? A ridiculous reason to fight? Never. How is it ridiculous for a man to go to war to protect the woman he loves?"<br>"Ludwig…did you just…did you just tell me you love me?"  
>"W-well, I may have some feelings…"<p>

It took all my willpower to prevent my jaw from dropping. Ludwig? The stern, unreadable one? I must admit though, I could picture myself with him. After that little outburst from Arthur and seeing his moody side, I wasn't very enthusiastic about continuing on with that romance. If you could even call it a romance anymore. But there was still the case of Mattie and Roderich…To be frank, the whole thing with Mattie was sort of one sided. He was putting all the emotion in, and I was too surprised to do otherwise. Well, don't I feel terrible about that now. Roderich, however. We had passion and all that. Part of me kept thinking of how he was once married, though, and I wondered if he was well and truly over it. When he told me he was, it seemed like he was kidding himself. I had a feeling I was just his rebound. And now here was Ludwig, willing to lay his life on the line for me, because he felt something for me. Good lord. If that's not romantic, I don't know what is. I watched the other countries walk out to prepare their war efforts. Ludwig went to walk out, but I grabbed his hand and looked him in the eyes.

"Ludwig?"  
>"<strong>Ja?<strong>"  
>"Come back in one piece, okay?" I gave him a wistful smile<p>

He took my hand in his and gave it a reassuring squeeze before walking out. Alfred walked up behind me and once we had finished cleaning up, we headed back for his house. The car was oddly silent. Alfred didn't even have words for what just happened. I sighed and went to my room, where I put my pajama's on and lay in bed listening to my ipod. What if someone died because of me? That'd be unbearable. As the night wore on, I ruminated on what I could do to stop this, or at least to knock some sense into them. Wait a minute…knock some sense…that's it! I'll prove that I don't need them to fight for me, by fighting for myself. If you're gonna declare war over me, I'm going to declare war on all of you for being idiots. Only problem is I can't fight worth beans and I'm a huge coward. I hate getting into conflict. Maybe a few warning shots would knock some sense into them? That could work. I'd need someone to teach me how to shoot though. Perhaps Vash could help me out. At peace, finally, I decided that in the morning, I'd ask Alfred for Vash's number and give him a call. I fell into a fitful, dreamless sleep. When I woke the next morning, I noticed the dark circles under my eyes, denoting a restless night. Alfred jumped when he saw me.

"Woah dude! Don't sneak up on me like that! You look like a ghost!" He was a very vivid shade of white  
>"No ghosts here. Just one extremely tired girl." I mumbled<br>"Awesome! I was scared for a minute there."  
>"Do you have Vash's number?"<br>"Somewhere, why?"  
>"I need to give him a call about some guns."<br>"…Ohhkay…"  
>"Don't ask. I just need the number."<p>

Alfred looked sufficiently curious and handed me a wireless phone and a piece of paper. I went into an empty room and Vash's phone rang for about two seconds before he picked it up.

"Alfred? What do you want?" His voice sounded stern and frustrated  
>"It's not Alfred, its Lana. Remember me? You rescued me a couple days back." I didn't realize how exhausted I sounded until I started talking<br>"Oh, you! May I ask why you're calling me?"  
>"I need to learn how to use guns, specifically ones you'd see on the battlefield."<br>"You're not thinking of joining that war I've been hearing about over here, are you?"  
>"I am. If I stand up for myself and show an unexpected side, they may just smarten up and stop fighting over me."<br>"Well…alright. But I'm still neutral in this!"  
>"As always."<br>"I'll expect you in the evening then?"  
>"Sure thing."<p>

He hung up and I exited the room. Giving Alfred a sombre face, I asked how soon he could get me to Bern.

**A/N: Oh boy...it's about to get relatively intense. Review please!**


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N: Alrighty, back to Lana and this war! I'm going to start throwing references to movies into this thing, so whoever finds them gets the pride of saying they found it.**

**DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING OF HETALIA**

Alfred looked positively conspiratorial for a second and then leaned in close, to disclose some great secret, no doubt.

"We could always use Air Force 1." He grinned  
>"Isn't it only Air Force 1 when the president is on board?" I wondered<br>"Psh, minor detail, dude."  
>"This seems a bit…illegal…"<br>"Why? I have more power over the country than he does. Hell, man, I am the country!"  
>"I know! Fine, how soon can you have it ready?"<br>"It'll be on the tarmac as soon as you need it."  
>"Fifteen minutes sound good?"<br>"Sounds great."

I went to my room and packed the essentials in a backpack. Slinging it over my shoulder, I ran downstairs to where Alfred was waiting with the car. We sped off to the airport and as I boarded the plane, I got the feeling that I wouldn't return for a very long time. It was a frightening, saddening sort of feeling. What was I getting myself into? It was just me, against four different countries. They had vast numbers of soldiers and I just had myself. I steeled myself for what was to come and waited for the plane to touch down in Switzerland. As I stepped off the plane onto the runway, I saw Vash waiting with a young girl who looked exactly like him.

"Lana, this is my sister, Liechtenstein." He motioned to the girl  
>"Pleased to meet you!" I smiled<br>"You can call me Lili." She smiled right back  
>"Right. Let's get down to business, shall we? We'll train at my facility not far from here. We can walk there." Said Vash, as he began walking away<br>"Switzy tells me you're going to be fighting. Is that true?"  
>"Yeah, it is." I responded to Liechtenstein<br>"You must be pretty brave to take them on!"  
>"Brave…or something else…"<p>

I chuckled to myself and Vash sent Lili home. His facility was an abandoned warehouse with various targets and racks of weaponry. We started with handguns and made our way up to rifles. Getting the basics down took hours, and a lot more energy than I had anticipated. I was beyond tired by the end of it all. Vash, being satisfied that I may last more than five minutes on the battlefield, declared the lesson over and lent me some old combat fatigues. My hands were shaking as I put them on and headed towards the front. Vash's intel told us that all four countries were fighting along the border of France and Germany. It was useless to sleep and by the time I arrived on foot, it would have been daylight anyway. I had two pistols on each hip, a knife in my boot and a sniper rifle slung across my back. Veins coursing with adrenaline, I could see the Austrian camp set up. I heard voices.

"What on earth are you wearing, General?"  
>"If I die, I will die well dressed, alright?" That voice was obviously Roderich<p>

I was crawling through the brush and wanted to stop, but this close to the camps, it was a really bad idea. My plan was to stay as far as I could from the actual fighting and just fire some warning shots from the sniper rifle. I crept close to a large tree and made my way up it, into the branches where I'd be hidden from sight. Now all I had to do was wait until I saw the armies assembling. It was a long time to wait, and I found myself dozing off more than once. Dawn's light crept over the smoking fields littered with craters and I saw Arthur, Matthew, Roderich, Ludwig and their respective armies approach from each direction. They were doing this old school style. I loaded rounds into the rifle and fired a shot just under Arthur's ear. He blanched and angrily glared at the other nations.

"Alright, you insufferable wankers! Who did that?" He shouted  
>"It wasn't them!" I yelled from the tree as I jumped down and hid myself in a bush<p>

They all spun around, looking for the source of the noise. I shot under Roderich's legs, just missed Mattie's torso and went over Ludwig's head, calling out to them each time and changing positions after each shot. I was like a ghost, everywhere and nowhere all at once. Finally, after using this tactic for a while, I emerged from my hiding place to a collection of shocked noises.

"Lana! Why?" Matt blinked  
>"What the bloody hell do you think you're doing?" Arthur was stunned<br>"Do you realize the danger you're in?" implored Ludwig  
>"Why aren't you safe at Alfred's?" questioned Roderich<br>"Because I want to send a message to you all." I stated flatly

Turning to the nearest tree, I pulled a piece of paper out of one of my pockets and tacked it to said tree with my knife. It was a declaration of war on all four of them. Who cares that I'm not a country, I can still prove a point.

"What's all this then…war?" Roderich yelped  
>"Mhm." I nodded<br>"What did we do to you?"  
>"Oh I dunno…be idiots about me! I mean really, who the hell goes to war over a girl? It's so damn stupid of all of you. I thought I'd stand up for myself. If you're gonna fight over me, I'm going to fight too, however moronic it may be."<br>"But…it's just you, against all of our armies." Matthew said  
>"I know. And I don't care. I'm doing what needs be done to knock some sense into you."<br>"Lana, consider the consequences. You could be killed!" Ludwig pleaded  
>"So could all of you! But you didn't seem too worried about that when you started this."<br>"I'll have you know I don't approve." Said Arthur  
>"And I'll have you know I don't give a flying rat's ass. Just remember this. I didn't have to miss you all."<p>

With that admonition, I turned on my heel, leaving four very confused nations standing there, too dumbfounded to fight. I looked for a suitable place to set up a makeshift camp. I found a little clearing not far from the battlefield and grabbed some branches from the nearest trees. Shrugging my shirt off to reveal a tank top underneath, I set the shirt against the branches to make a poor imitation of a tent. I began to devise a battle plan when I heard a branch snap underfoot. I spun around, whipping my pistols out of their holsters. To my surprise, it was both Roderich and Ludwig.

"You really need to work on your espionage." I smiled humorlessly  
>"Listen, Lana, we aren't here for that." Ludwig said<br>"We're here to surrender. This is ridiculous, and both of us know too well how much a war can hurt." Roderich looked down as he muttered  
>"What about Matthew and Arthur?" I was almost at a loss for words<br>"We don't know."  
>"Knowing Arthur, he'll try to stick it out until the very last possible second." Ludwig shrugged<br>"And he'll try to convince Matt to stay with him, though I doubt Matt will actually do it." I added, drawing off what world history I knew  
>"Regardless, here is each of our notices of surrender. If you can after that whole fiasco, forgive us." Roderich had resumed his aristocratic façade<br>"I'm not heartless, you know. Of course I forgive you! You both know that I was only doing this to prove the point that one, I can take care of myself, and two, warring over a girl is stupid." I smiled wryly  
>"<strong>Ja,<strong> we know. Now we also know, you're just as insane as the rest of us."  
>"That much should have been obvious."<br>"Well, we should be leaving then." Ludwig turned to walk away from my poor excuse of a camp  
>"When the party is just beginning? Whatever for?" We all turned to see that it was Arthur who had spoken<br>"Arthur? What are you doing? Where's Mattie?" I asked  
>"He's packing our things. We're both hung over, tired and have no desire to fight you."<br>"I take that as a surrender?"  
>"And notice that we'll not bother you romantically any more, unless you want that."<br>"Good to hear. Best of luck."

**A/N: You may be saying at this point, "But Author, you didn't put in any fighting!" I realize that, and I suck at battle scenes, so I figured I'd just have the boys come to their senses. Review please! :)**


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N: There are two movie references in this one, see if you can find them! Let's see what Lana's up to...**

**DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING OF HETALIA**

He nodded and walked away, a slight wobble to his steps. Good thing this war was over before it began; things could have gone so wrong. I was left standing with Roderich and Ludwig, confused and at a loss for what to do now. The only logical choice was to get out of here, but where would I go? As great as Alfred's house was, it was time for a change of scenery. I put my shirt back on and dropped the sticks holding it up.

"Lana, before we go…" Roderich trailed off  
>"Yes?" I questioned<br>"Ludwig and I did some talking and we decided, after about an hour, that if he wishes to court you, I'll not stand in his way."  
>"Oh…I…but…you…"<br>"If I may be frank, I found I was still pining for someone else."  
>"I see. Well, thanks!"<p>

I couldn't think of anything else to say, and Roderich walked off. Ludwig turned to look at me and I beamed at him with a sunny smile. A beat passed, then he gathered me up in his arms and spun me around, all giddy. I couldn't help myself and I began to giggle. Of all the places to laugh, you wouldn't think of a battlefield. Yet, there we were, happy as could be.

"Lana?" Ludwig said  
>"Yeah?"<br>"Would you come back to my house with me? Feliciano has been missing you something terrible, and I think Gilbert may be as well."  
>"Of course! But what about you?" I winked at him<br>"More than I can stand." He grinned  
>"I'll be there as soon as I can."<p>

I flew back to Alfred's place as fast as I could, and explained to him that I needed my stuff, as I was packing up and moving yet again. He seemed okay with it, but some of the states wanted me to stay. After saying my goodbyes, I was on the road yet again, but this time, back to Berlin. The flight was pretty good; I ended up watching most of the movies that were available. As I disembarked, I began to scan the crowds for a familiar face when I spotted silver hair bobbing up and down. Could that be Gilbert? Or just a senior citizen? When I heard his distinctive "Kesesese", I knew it was Gilbert. I went running over and everyone seemed so excited to see me. Feli launched himself at me with a squeal.

"I missed you so much! I almost didn't eat!" He cried into my shoulder  
>"I missed you all too. Now, Feli, I need to go get my bag…could you let go?" I laughed as he slowly got off me<br>"Welcome home, Lana." Ludwig smiled

I gave him a kiss on the cheek as I went to grab my things. When I walked away, I could have sworn I heard Gilbert say something involving his **bruder** scoring. Ahh, Berlin. Their house was just as I remembered, only a tad messier. Stepping over a discarded beer can, I went back upstairs to what had been my room and began to unpack. Before long, I had the room sorted out and my clothes in some manner of storage. As I sat on the bed to get my bearings, and to think up a plan of what to do next, Gilbert came and sat beside me.

"Not busy are you? Awesome!" He didn't really let me answer  
>"What's up, Gil?" I asked<br>"Me, **bruder** and Feliciano are going clubbing later, wanna join?"  
>"Sure, why not. When?"<br>"Sometime around 10:30."  
>"Cool, count me in!"<p>

Ludwig's head appeared in the door and Gilbert mentioned how he'd already asked about going dancing. Ludwig nodded and I walked out of my room to spend some time with the others. We had all settled around the kitchen table and began a game of dice to pass the time. Feli told me about how Ivan had finally given up on the kidnapping when he heard I was at Alfred's place, and then we went on to more trivial matters. Apparently Gilbert got into a fight with some girl called Elizabeta, and I went through my memory to see if I knew her. Aha! The one that freaked me out in the middle of the night at Roderich's house! The conversation went on and I ended up losing most of my small change to the dice game. It was around 10:00 when we finally stopped, and started to head out for the clubs.

"One thing, guys." I said  
>"What?" Asked Ludwig<br>"These aren't German sparkle parties, are they?"  
>"Did you really just say that?" Gilbert stared at me<br>"What? The reference had to be made." I grinned  
>"I don't get it…" Feliciano said<br>"Don't worry about it."

You could hear the first club from four blocks away. It was a pretty humble looking place on the outside, but the bouncer and the huge line to get in told me it was not even close to that inside. We got waved through, even though we didn't have tickets or a pass or anything of the sort. I commented on this and Ludwig explained that it's always easier to get in when you have a pretty girl in the group. I blushed and we claimed a table before we went to dance. Some random guy came up to our table, and he looked like he was pretty drunk.

"**Wollen tanzen, mӓdchen**?" Is what I think I heard? It was super loud in there  
>"I can't understand you!" I said as I motioned to myself and the music<p>

Ludwig obviously heard what was said, and shooed the man away. We turned to the dance floor and saw Feli and Gilbert were already out there, holding glow sticks and having a blast. I ran on and someone shoved sticks into my hands. Feli was dancing with a girl, and being the adorable guy he is, asked if he could touch the girl first. I didn't know whether to laugh or say aww. Ludwig looked as though he got dragged to these places a lot by Gilbert. Speaking of the albino, he was up on a platform grinding all by himself.

"C'mon Ludwig, dance a little!" I grinned as I shuffled over  
>"Err…I…" He didn't look as though he would relax<p>

I grabbed his hands and spun around, coaxing him to get a bit more into the music. Ludwig stiffened at first, then loosened up, and even began to lead. We laughed and bounced to the music, having a blast. Dance after dance, Ludwig's smile grew larger and larger. It was great to see him actually cutting loose for once, instead of being all strict and regimented. Not to mention he looked quite handsome with his hair mussed up.

**A/N: According to Google translate, **wollen tanzen, mӓdchen means "Do you want to dance, girl?" in German. How accurate that is, I don't know. Anywho. If there's a situation you'd like to see Lana and the countries get into next, send me a message and we'll see what I can do with it! I like my readers to have input :). Review please!****


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N: Wow, I let this go for a while...well, here you go, the second last part of this story! It took me a while to get done because of all the ways I could end this. Le gasp, second last! It's come to that time where the story wraps up, and after this chapter, it'll be finito. Read on, dear reader, read on...**

**DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING OF HETALIA**

Gilbert shimmied his way over and asked if we wanted to head to another club. I didn't notice we had stayed out this late, but it was apparently 4 in the morning!

"Actually, Gil, I think we should head home." I said

"What for? The night's still young!" He shot me a look of confusion

"Late nights and I don't mix."

"In that case, let's get going, I'd rather not have you get sick." Ludwig said

His arm found its way around my shoulders and we set off for home. How odd, a week or two ago, I was such a stranger to them and now I think of their houses as my home. It's kinda funny. When we finally got in, Feliciano was barely awake and Gilbert's eyes were bloodshot, turning his normally red eyes into an odd shade of pink. The night's still young, is it? I barely had enough alertness to put my pajamas on, and ended up passing out on my bed, on top of the blankets. The morning brought a burst of light so bright, I could have sworn the sun was only two feet from the window. Even though I wasn't under the blankets, I felt some sort of warmth. Sitting up and looking about, I saw the guys all huddled together on the bed too. Feli, I could understand, but Gilbert and Ludwig? Eh, whatever. They'll do what they'll do, and just as long as I don't wake up naked or something, I'm cool with it. I went into the kitchen and made myself some toast with peanut butter and honey. None of them looked like they were going to get up anytime soon.

"Up so soon?" said Ludwig, who had just appeared in the doorway

"Soon? It's nearly half past noon!" I grinned

"Oh! You should have woken us up."

"Speaking of us, how did you all end up in my bed?"

"You know, I'm not too sure myself."

"That's cool, I guess. Just don't let Feli and Gil make a habit of it."

"I'll tr-wait, what?"

I laughed as Ludwig started stammering and making attempts to change the subject. Ever the proper gentleman, I see. Well, what to do now? I'm hardly a guest anymore, and as far as they know, everything is quiet on the whole "Russia wanting to adopt me and make me a city" front. Busying myself with putting away the dishes, I heard a groan of agony as Gilbert stumbled into the kitchen and huddled into a chair at the table. Feliciano followed half a minute later and sprawled onto the floor. I grinned and looked around at the kitchen, the grin turning quickly into a frown. It was filthy.

"Man, guys, do you just not clean this place when you don't have company?" I sighed

"Looks clean to me." Gilbert shrugged

"You've got to be kidding. The fridge is dusty, the counter has stains of lord knows what on it and the sink is practically clogged."

"We were…ah…busy." Ludwig grinned sheepishly

Busy or not, if you don't clean you get bugs and mice and that's just sick. I went into my room, threw on one of Ludwig's old shirts and a pair of sweats, then marched back out with a bucket of water, a sponge, a cloth for dusting and a broom. The three of them blinked in confusion then realization dawned on them with various looks of horror.

"You can't be expecting the awesome Prussia to clean?" Gilbert sputtered

"But Lana, I haven't done that since I was little!" Feli protested

"No excuses, grab a tool and get working." I held out my collection

They grumbled, but helped me out anyway. Feli was sweeping the floor, Gilbert and Ludwig were working on getting the sink empty and I was scrubbing the countertops. After an hour or two, everything was spotless.

"See? Was that so bad?" I smiled

"Yeah!" Gil groaned

"Oh shush. If I'm going to be living here, I'd rather live in a nice, clean place."

"You're staying? Forever?" Feliciano gave me a tiny smile of hope

"Well, if it's alright with you. I mean, I don't think Ludwig wants me to leave and I like it here."

"That's true; I would like you to stay." Ludwig blushed

"Well, what do we do now?"

"We could go to my place for a little while!" Feli bounced up and down with excitement

"Vacation time? Yes please!"

I packed a bit of clothes in a backpack, just a few nights worth, and we all piled into Feliciano's Ferrari. As soon as everything was in order, our little road trip began. It was the middle of the afternoon by the time we had reached a cozy little town on the Mediterranean coast. The view was gorgeous. Houses were built onto cliffs overlooking the sea, with boats down below some of them. Sunlight sparkled off the water and the sky was blue as could be. I loved it!

"So, Feli, where'd you take us?" Gil asked

"Ja, this place is superb!" Ludwig admired the scenery, like me

"Welcome to Sorrento! Fratello and I have a little house here; I thought it'd be perfect." Feli smiled

"It is perfect. Where's your house?" I wondered

"You should be able to see it, it's just…there!"

Feli pointed to a large, sienna coloured house perched on one of the cliffs, with trees surrounding it and a visible garden area. As we drove closer, I could see how old the house was. A good hundred years of use was displayed in the tiles. We got settled in our various rooms. I picked one with a cute dolphin mosaic on the floor; I found it quite appropriate for an ocean town. Stepping out onto the balcony, I could see a mountain in the distance. What a view!

"Lana?" I heard Ludwig call out

"Yeah? In here." I replied

"Ah, there you are. Bruder, Feliciano and I were going to go swimming. Interested?"

"Of course I am! I just didn't pack a swimsuit. Didn't have a chance to buy one."

"I'm sure you can buy one here."

So off we went, bikini hunting. We found a quaint little seaside shop that sold them, and I picked a nice red bikini, not too tiny, but not too large. We heard someone yelling out our names and we shielded our eyes to see Gilbert urging us onto a cliff. He's not going to dive off it? As we ran up, he did indeed dive off it. My stomach flopped at the thought of doing something like that, from so high up. Feli followed suit, leaping off with a yell of "Wheeeee!" Oh no, no way am I doing this. Let me just find a beach and I'll swim out to them. Gilbert reappeared behind us, having climbed back up and laughed.

"I can practically see your mind on your face, Lana."

"So you can see how insane I think this is? Good!" I chuckled half-heartedly

"Don't be such a stick in the mud! Live a little!"

"I live a little! I went dancing, didn't I-!"

As I was talking, I didn't realize it but Gil had gone behind me and as I was pronouncing the last word, he shoved me off the cliff. I flailed like a baby bird trying to fly for the first time. The water was coming up on me fast and common sense finally kicked in, huddling me into a cannonball. A huge fountain of seawater went splashing up as I hit the water, wiping my eyes out as I surfaced. Gilbert and Ludwig were chuckling and Feli was paddling about in the ocean. I mock scowled at Gil. As terrifying as that was, it was actually quite fun. Ludwig turned to walk down to the beach when Gil shoved him off the cliff too. I barely swam out of the way in time as he landed with a very graceless flop. He came up with a huff and I giggled at it. Oh Ludwig, always trying to keep up that stern façade. Feli and Gil joined us in the water and our swimming turned quickly into a splash war. I can't remember a time where I've laughed so hard, or had so much fun. The sun was setting over the Mediterranean as we finally got out of the ocean and went back to the house.

**A/N: The last bit, the epilogue, will be a few years ahead of this one so be warned about that in case you get confused about the story jumping about :P. Review please!**


	22. Epilogue

**A/N: Here we are, at the end of our journey. It was a blast going through the story with you guys, and I hop****e you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it! Seeing as this epilogue is set in the future, I explain (or at least, I think I explain) a few questions that the time jump might give you.**_  
><em>

**DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING OF HETALIA  
><strong>

_Five Years Later_

"No, tell Alfred that if anything is going to get done, he has to be the one to initiate it!" I sighed into the phone.

It had been five years since I was dropped into the middle of this madness. Back then, I thought it was crazy that countries could exist as immortal people. But now, it's a lovable kind of madness, the rush that comes with a good job or new school year. I had come to terms with the fact that this was my reality now, and frankly, it was a heck of a lot more fun. In those five years, things had changed with the nations. I had gone from just taking down the minutes to being able to discuss and debate with them during the World Conferences. Ludwig was still letting me live at his place, and we were getting really romantic with each other.

I can still recall the first time he kissed me. It was a few years ago, later in the day, after a particularly nasty meeting in Berlin. Things were tense in the conference room and I stepped in to close the meeting before anyone came to blows. As we were on the way home, Ludwig stopped to sit on a bench for a breather. I sat beside him and we just stayed that way in silence until a movement caught my eye. Ludwig was looking at me through softened eyes, and even though he couldn't see it, my cheeks went bright red. Something in me told me to move closer, so I did. He tilted his head at the same time I did, and our lips met in a long, but gentle kiss. When we broke apart, he gave me a shy smile and we walked hand in hand for the rest of the way.

"Fine, fine, I'll be there within the next day or so." I flopped down into a chair as the voice on the other line brought me out of the memories

"Everything alright?" Ludwig's voice called

"Yeah, everything's good, hon."

He came up beside me and planted a quick kiss on my temple, murmuring "Good" as he did. I smiled, remembering how after the kiss, he had asked me to be the secondary representative for Germany, just in case he couldn't go. Kiku told me afterwards that this was equal to proposing, in their terms. Of course, I had accepted. I asked later what he meant, with an innocent grin. He responded by getting down on one knee and asking if I would like to be his wife. I would love it! He smiled and put the ring on my finger, a beautiful ruby surrounded by diamonds and set into white gold. Though I couldn't physically be Germany with him, I still needed something to represent in order to become like Ludwig and the others. So one night, Gilbert and I sat down at the table, trying to think of what I could represent. It didn't need to be an existing country or territory, just one that was around at one point. I mean, look at Gilbert. Gil shot right back up, saying he knew just who to ask. He held the phone out to me after a short conversation, saying his grandpa wanted to talk to me, that his grandpa knew pretty much everything. His grandpa?

"Hello?" I cautiously asked

"Hi." A deep voice answered

"Gilbert tells me you know what I represent? I'm Ludwig's wife-to-be."

"I know."

"Er…yes…so, what exactly am I?"

"Grand Duchy of Baden. Was a sovereign country until it joined Germany. Joined means marriage to us."

"Oh, makes sense. Thank you, Mr.…?"

"Germania."

The phone disconnected with a click. Well that was short. Gilbert heard everything and nodded affirmatively.

"I remember that…**bruder **marrying Baden. It was a nice ceremony. And who says history doesn't repeat itself? Kesesesese!" He chuckled

"Yeah, but Gil, aren't you forgetting that Baden is a centuries old duchy? It had a representative, and that wasn't me. How is this going to work?" I frowned

"Ok, here's how it's gonna go. Remember how I disappeared for a while, right off the face of the earth?"  
>"Yeah…"<p>

"Well that's what happened to Baden, but no one noticed really. Was kinda like Canada in that no one ever saw 'em."

"Go on."

"Instead of coming back to life like I did, keeping my personality and awesome looks, the representative is getting a new face, and that face is you. There you go, problem solved."

"Alright, if you think the other countries will go for it."

"Sure they will, you just need to be announced and all. Oh, also, as soon as you marry **bruder**, you'll become one of us. Immortality is awesome! But it may tingle."

I laughed and went to go find Ludwig in his office. I told him the plan and he seemed to agree with Gilbert. We sent out wedding invites that announced the marriage of Ludwig Beilschmidt to…well, me! It looked so formal and I thought nostalgically that this would be one of the last times I'd be known as Dover. I almost fainted when I thought of all the work that had to be done for it, but Ludwig assured me that it would be taken care of.

"Well, I'll be off to sleep." I told him, "I've got to take an early flight to sort out this business with Alfred."  
>"Sleep well, <strong>liebe<strong>, I'll be off to bed myself in a few minutes."

As I climbed the stairs, I thought of how I'd be Mrs. Lana Beilschmidt soon. Or to use my formal title, Lana Beilschmidt, the immortal representative of the Grand Duchy of Baden. It was exciting! I thought on all I had come through to this point and by chance, my gaze strayed into Ludwig's room. There was a globe sitting there and I thought of the old words that had brought me here in the first place: "Draw a circle, that's the earth."

**A/N: And thus, we end our tale. Reviews are great!**


	23. Announcement from the author

**Hello all! This is just a bit of shameless self-promotion, to let you know that I've written a sequel! If you haven't found it already, you can find it under the name of The Way You Look Tonight. That is all. Have a good day!**


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